NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Offices

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what area of office space his Department and its agencies used in central London in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The total area used by my Department in central London in 2004 was 3,703 sq m. This figure reduced to 3,116 sq m in 2006 and produced a cost saving of £298,000.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Assisted Voluntary Return Scheme

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of the assisted voluntary return scheme was in 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The two main assisted voluntary return (AVR) schemes operating during 2005-06 were the voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme (VARRP) and the assisted voluntary return for irregular migrants (AVRIM).
	VARRP is operated by the International Organization Migration (IOM) on behalf of the Home Office. In the programme year 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2006 the scheme cost £8.65 million to run. £3.45 million was funded by the European Refugee Fund (ERF) and £5.19 million was funded by the Home Office.
	There were 5,002 returns under the programme with an average of 417 returns per month which is an increase of 192 per cent. compared to the previous VARRP year. VARRP returns accounted for approximately 25 per cent. of all failed asylum seeker removals between one August 2005 to 31 July 2006. Returns are approximately 25 per cent of the cost of an enforced removal.
	During the operating year 01 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 AVRIM cost £555,453 and was fully funded by the Home Office. This was the first full year of the programme and there were 539 returns with approximately a third of these were to Brazil. Reintegration assistance is available to vulnerable individuals such as victims of trafficking.
	AVR provides for a dignified and sustainable return. Voluntary returns are possible to a number of countries to which enforced removals, particularly of families, are challenging and there are savings to the public purse with savings in MASS support, detention costs and in the case of families, savings in NHS and local authority costs.

British Nationality

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizenship ceremonies have taken place in Northern Ireland since their introduction; and how many people who have become British citizens have had such a ceremony, broken down by nationality of origin, in each case.

Liam Byrne: Citizenship ceremonies were introduced on 1 January 2004. Between that date and 25 February 2007, 628 people have attended a citizenship ceremony in Northern Ireland and have become British citizens. The figures, broken down by nationality of origin, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 India 70 
			 Philippines 62 
			 China (Peoples Republic of China) 49 
			 South Africa 38 
			 British National (Overseas) 28 
			 United States of America 20 
			 Korea (South) 19 
			 Turkey 19 
			 Pakistan 18 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 16 
			 Russia 16 
			 Thailand 16 
			 Australia 15 
			 Canada 13 
			 Bangladesh 11 
			 Zimbabwe 11 
			 Iran 10 
			 Ireland 10 
			 British Subject 9 
			 Malaysia 9 
			 Romania 9 
			 Sudan 8 
			 Algeria 7 
			 New Zealand 7 
			 Nigeria 7 
			 Sri Lanka 7 
			 Belarus 5 
			 Bulgaria 5 
			 Colombia 5 
			 Egypt 5 
			 Morocco 5 
			 Albania 4 
			 Ghana 4 
			 Jordan 4 
			 Kenya 4 
			 Libya (Arab Republic) 4 
			 Nepal 4 
			 Taiwan 4 
			 Tanzania 4 
			 British Overseas Citizen 3 
			 Guyana 3 
			 Poland 3 
			 Portugal 3 
			 Vietnam 3 
			 Unknown 2 
			 Afghanistan 2 
			 Argentina 2 
			 Brazil 2 
			 Ecuador 2 
			 Germany 2 
			 Greece 2 
			 Hong Kong SAR of China(1) 2 
			 Israel 2 
			 Kazakhstan 2 
			 Mexico 2 
			 Myanmar (Burma) 2 
			 Syria 2 
			 Ukraine 2 
			 Azerbaijan 1 
			 Bahrain 1 
			 Bolivia 1 
			 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 1 
			 France 1 
			 Honduras 1 
			 Hong Kong SAR of China(2) 1 
			 Hungary 1 
			 Indonesia 1 
			 Iraq 1 
			 Italy 1 
			 Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire) 1 
			 Jamaica 1 
			 Kosovo 1 
			 Latvia 1 
			 Malawi 1 
			 Moldova 1 
			 Montenegro 1 
			 Peru 1 
			 Singapore 1 
			 Somalia 1 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 1 
			 Tunisia 1 
			 Zambia 1 
			 (1) Holder of special administrative region passport (2) Holder of certificate of identify or document of identity

Departmental Contracts

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which public affairs firms have been given contracts by  (a) his Department and  (b) public bodies sponsored by his Department in the last five years; and what the purpose was of each contract.

Liam Byrne: From best available records no public affairs contracts advising clients on politics and government have been let by  (a) the Department in the last five years.
	The contracts and the purpose of each contract so let by  (b) public bodies sponsored by the Department are shown in the table:
	
		
			  NDPB  Contract 
			 Centrex Luther Pendragon; projection of effective communications upon the establishment of Centrex as a NDPB 
			 The Security Industry Agency Grayling Public Affairs; Assisting in implementing the SIA approach to politics, government and other stakeholders 
			 Youth Justice Board Mark Bolland and Associates; preparation for a hearing with the Public Accounts Committee

Discretionary Compensation Scheme

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department pays insurance premiums to cover payments made from the discretionary compensation scheme.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office does not pay insurance premiums to cover payments made from the discretionary compensation scheme for miscarriages of justice. That scheme was abolished by the then Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke), 19 April 2006,  Official Report, columns 15-17W. The decision to abolish the scheme is currently subject to Judicial Review.

Identity Cards: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Irish nationals living in Northern Ireland will be required to carry a UK identity national card once they are introduced.

Joan Ryan: Under Section 13(3) of the Identity Cards Act 2006, there is no authorisation to make any regulations that would require anyone to carry an identity card with them at all times once they are introduced.
	The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement confirmed that all the peoples of Northern Ireland had the right to identify themselves as Irish, British or both, as they chose.
	As such, those Irish nationals who wish to identify as a dual national may choose to obtain a British passport and, in that event, would be issued with an identity card as well. The status and entitlements of those who choose not to obtain a British passport, whether they identify as Irish, British or both will remain unchanged.
	However, it is the Government's policy that, eventually, any individual who is resident in the United Kingdom for more than three months should be issued with an identity card, regardless of their nationality. Further primary legislation will need to be approved in Parliament in order to introduce such a compulsory scheme.

Mark Ryder

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what representations have been made to foreign police authorities to further the recapture of escaped prisoner Mark Ryder;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of how the convicted prisoner Mark Ryder, who escaped from HMP Highpoint, was able to leave the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what checks are in place at British borders to prevent escaped prisoners from leaving the UK; and what further steps he plans to take to prevent escaped prisoners leaving the UK.

Liam Byrne: Following the securing of a European arrest warrant, Mark Ryder was arrested at an address in Spain on 21 December 2006. He was surrendered to British authorities on 17 January 2007. It has not yet been possible to interview him to ascertain the means by which he fled the United Kingdom.
	The police act on specific intelligence where it is available to detain those who seek to leave the country without having permission to do so. Targeted embarkation controls continue to take place at major ports. Where embarkation controls are in place, immigration officers check documents and identity against the immigration database to identify failed asylum seekers and other immigration offenders who are leaving the UK and refer to other law enforcement agencies as appropriate.
	The e-Borders Programme, scheduled to commence in 2008, will strengthen and modernise our border control and provide an electronic record of those entering and leaving the UK.

Migrant Workers: Bulgaria and Romania

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what controls will be put in place to ensure that Bulgarian and Romanian self-employed workers seeking work in the UK  (a) in the construction industry and  (b) in other sectors meet the criteria of being genuinely self-employed.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 13 December 2007
	We cannot place restrictions on EEA nationals that are genuinely self-employed. However, we will expect Bulgarian and Romanian nationals working in a self-employed capacity to be able to demonstrate that they are genuinely self-employed if they are challenged. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has provided immigration officials with training and guidance to assist with identification of those who are and are not genuinely self-employed, in the construction industry and other sectors. There is ongoing liaison between HMRC and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) to establish how HMRC Status Inspectors can provide further support to IND in determining employment status.
	Where it is established that a Romanian or Bulgarian national is not genuinely self-employed and is therefore working in the UK illegally, the individual will be liable to prosecution. Individuals may be offered the opportunity to discharge their liability to prosecution through the payment of a fixed penalty of £1,000. Employers will face a maximum fine upon conviction of £5,000 per worker.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners were held in each prison in Wales on 23 November, broken down by nationality.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of foreign national prisoners held in each prison establishment in Wales can be found in the following table. The data, which are obtained from the prison IT system, are not shown separately by nationality, because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Foreign National prisoners held in Prison Establishments in Wales,  31 December 2006 
			   Number 
			 Cardiff 64 
			 Parc 52 
			 Swansea 28 
			 Usk (Frescoed) 8 
			 Total 152 
			  Note: The data, which are obtained from the prison IT system, are not shown separately because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.

Staff Redeployment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department were temporarily redeployed following the discovery of case files of criminals convicted abroad which had not been entered on the police national computer; and which duties they were redeployed from and to.

Liam Byrne: We have established a task force (the Overseas Crime Task Force) to meet the immediate demand for information and management surrounding the recent media stories on the Home Office's handling of notifications, by other countries, of criminal convictions for UK citizens. The task force comprises 10 members of staff who were drawn from the Crime Reduction and Community Safety Group, Human Resources, the Performance and Reform Directorate and the Communication Directorate.
	In addition an inquiry team has been set up to establish the circumstances around the handling by Home Office officials of the notifications. The inquiry team comprises three members of staff who have been drawn from the Crime Reduction and Community Safety Group, Human Resources, and the Performance and Reform Directorate with administrative support.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: DFID has not itself carried out a detailed assessment of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan to date as we are able to closely monitor the assessments made by the Government of Afghanistan and the UN. We are then able to judge how best to respond to these assessments.
	For example, the Government of Afghanistan and the UN jointly launched a drought appeal in October 2006. The drought is predominantly in the northern areas and is affecting 2.5 million people. DFID contributed £1 million towards drought mitigation. This is for water and sanitation projects in the most affected areas, implemented by NGOs working with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), the main Government partner of the UN drought appeal.
	DFID monitors the situation in Helmand particularly carefully. The UN has estimated that around 2,800 families have been displaced. The UK-led Helmand Provincial reconstruction team have responded by providing assistance to Internally displaced persons in the province. This includes 30,000 funding for food aid and essential items like soap and blankets for these displaced families. We are currently assured that basic needs are being met and UK officials in the Helmand PRT continue to monitor the situation closely.

Algeria: International Assistance

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with  (a) the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,  (b) the World Food Programme and  (c) the European Commission on embezzlement of international aid in the Tindouf camps in Algeria.

Gareth Thomas: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) or the European Commission on embezzlement of international aid in the Tindouf camps in Algeria.
	The refugee camps in this area were established in 1975. The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) is the main donor. An audit in 2003 revealed some irregularities, which were discussed with EU member states at Humanitarian Aid Committee meetings in 2003 and 2004.
	ECHO has contributed £18.3 million since 2004, primarily through UNHCR and WFP, and has been monitoring its programmes closely through its office in Algiers. These agencies have told us there have been no further problems.

China: Overseas Aid

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much development aid was provided to China in 2005-06.

Gareth Thomas: UK Bilateral Aid to China in the fiscal year 2005-06 was £36.9 million. The full breakdown of Bilateral Aid is published in Table 12.3 of "Statistics on International Development 2001/02-2005/06", a copy of which is available in the Library.
	In addition the UK imputed shares of Multilateral Expenditure to China was £22.5 million in 2004, the last year for which data are available.

Conflict Prevention

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding and resources  (a) were allocated to the Global Conflict Prevention Pool in each of the last five financial years and  (b) are planned to be allocated in each of the next three financial years.

Gareth Thomas: The following table shows the total amount spent by the Global Conflict Prevention Pool over the last five financial years, and allocations for the current and next year. The pool also holds an £8 million reserve, which may be spent over the next financial year 2007-08. Funding for the three years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 will be agreed as part of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.
	
		
			  Financial Year  £ million 
			 2001-02 42 
			 2002-03 66 
			 2003-04 87 
			 2004-05 101 
			 2005-06 75 
			 2006-07 95 
			 2007-08 73

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what databases are controlled by his Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

Gareth Thomas: The following databases are operated by external organisations on behalf of DFID:
	1. The Research 4 Development (R4D) portal and database of DFID-funded research, operated for DFID by the Communication and Information Management Resource Centre (CIMRC) consortium.
	2. The NARSIS database of DFID-funded projects with natural resources components, operated for DFID by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).
	3. The Infrastructure Connect database of DFID-funded research engineering and infrastructure projects, operated for DFID by the CIMRC consortium.
	In addition, DFID makes data available to the international AIDA directory of development projects and activities operated by the Development Gateway Foundation.
	DFID also maintains a number of databases of financial, human resources, document management and other information which are used for internal administration purposes.
	DFID has not carried out any studies of the accuracy or currency of any of these databases, so it would not be possible to provide the estimates requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Since 1997, DFID has had no involuntary redundancies, but there have been voluntary early departures. The net annual spend by DFID in each year since 1997 is as follows. DFID has no agencies.
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 1997-98 926,268 
			 1998-99 494,903 
			 1999-2000 620,471 
			 2000-01 422,910 
			 2001-02 562,967 
			 2002-03 581,7.08 
			 2003-04 1,639,414 
			 2004-05 1,257,039 
			 2005-06 911,700 
			 2006-07(1) 2,479,193 
			 2007-08(1) 1,422,620 
			 (1) Estimated costs based on expenditure from existing commitments 
		
	
	These costs are based on all early retirees and their ongoing annual costs. They include the initial lump sum cost on departure and the annual compensation payments paid to staff until they qualify for their normal pension at age 60.
	DFID is in the early stages of a new round of voluntary early departures. The closing date for applications is 4 April 2007.

Developing Countries: Health Professions

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has given to the Global Health Workforce Initiative; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the spending of those funds; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) was launched at the World Health Assembly in May 2006. The objectives of the GHWA are to accelerate country actions and help solve global problems in the current crisis in human resources for health. The Department for International Development (DFID) announced on 13 February 2007 that it will provide £1 million over two years to support GHWA. This support is subject to performance against key objectives. DFID will work closely with GHWA to ensure that it meets its objectives and that these funds are used effectively.

Madagascar: Overseas Aid

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of statements by the Madagascan Foreign Minister that Madagascar needs more than $242 million to recover from cyclone damage; and what funds he has pledged to aid this recovery since November 2006.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is keeping in close touch with the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), which has sent a humanitarian adviser to assess the effect of the cyclone damage in Madagascar. We are expecting that ECHO will provide assistance to those most directly affected by cyclone damage once a full assessment of immediate needs has been made. The UK has not as yet pledged any funds directly to Madagascar to address cyclone damage, but contributes 17 per cent. to the ECHO budget, which will be drawn upon for the EU's response. The appeal made by the Foreign Minster goes beyond these more immediate needs and is linked to a wider range of rehabilitation needs including agriculture and infrastructure repairs.

Overseas Aid: Health Services

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how money provided by his Department to fund health-related projects is split between improving overall health infrastructures and fighting specific diseases.

Gareth Thomas: DFID uses a range of funding instruments to improve health in developing countries. The preference is to provide budget support or pooled funds to support a country to implement its own health plan. DFID regards this as the best way to strengthen the overall health infrastructure—the clinics, trained staff, essential medicines, and running costs—to deliver a broad range of health services. DFID may also provide additional support to target specific diseases or new health challenges. In more difficult settings, such as fragile states, DFID is likely to initially support projects against specific diseases but will aim to move, where possible, to support broader health programmes. The two approaches are not exclusive and complement each other. For example DFID funding to the GAVI Alliance enables countries to provide the newer and underused vaccines; funding through the country budget will help train and employ the health workers who vaccinate children and to buy the basic vaccines such as polio and measles.

TRANSPORT

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1673W, on air services, if he will break down into sub-categories the figures for the "other" category for air services between Edinburgh airport and London City airport.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of "other" class category passengers carried between Edinburgh airport and London City airport in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Edinburgh to/from London City 
			  "Other" class category  Number (nearest thousand) 
			 Non-response(1) 20,000 
			 Other ticket types(2) 0 
			 Total 20,000 
			 (1) Non-response results from the question not being asked or a passenger refusing to answer. (2) Other ticket types are those tickets that could not be categorised into business or economy and include types of promotional tickets, e.g. two for one.  Source: CAA passenger Survey

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1674W, on air services, if he will break down into sub-categories the figures for the "other" category for air services between Edinburgh airport and  (a) Luton,  (b) Stansted,  (c) Gatwick,  (d) Heathrow,  (e) Manchester International,  (f) Birmingham International,  (g) Leeds Bradford International and  (h) Nottingham East Midlands airports.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of "other" class category passengers carried between Edinburgh airport and Luton, Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester International, Birmingham International, Leeds Bradford International and Nottingham East Midlands airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number (nearest thousand) 
			   "Other" class category:  
			  Edinburgh to/from  Non-response( 1)  Other ticket types( 2)  Total 
			 Luton 34,000 0 34,000 
			 Stansted 36,000 0 36,000 
			 London Gatwick 55,000 — 55,000 
			 London Heathrow 151,000 1,000 152,000 
			 Manchester International 32,000 1,000 32,000 
			 Birmingham International 27,000 1,000 29,000 
			 Leeds Bradford International 1,000 0 1,000 
			 Nottingham International 20,000 0 20,000 
			 0 = Nil — = Negligible (less than 500) (1) Non-response results from the question not being asked or a passenger refusing to answer. (2) Other ticket types are those tickets that could not be categorised into business or economy and include types of promotional tickets, e.g. two for one.  Source: CAA passenger Survey

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1673W, on Air Services, if he will break down into sub-categories the figures for the "other" category for air services between Dundee airport and  (a) London City airport and  (b) Manchester International airport.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of "other" class category passengers carried between Dundee airport and London City and Manchester airports in 2003 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number (nearest thousand) 
			  "Other" class category:  Dundee to/from London City  Dundee to/from Manchester 
			 Non-response(1) — 0 
			 Other ticket types(2) 0 0 
			 Total — 0 
			 0 = Nil '—' = Negligible (less than 500) (1) Non-response results from the question not being asked or a passenger refusing to answer. (2) Other ticket types are those tickets that could not be categorised into business or economy and include types of promotional tickets, e.g. two for one.  Source: CAA passenger Survey

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2077W, on Air Services, if he will break down into sub-categories the figures for the "other" category for air services between Prestwick airport and London Stansted airport.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of "other" class category passengers carried between Prestwick airport and London Stansted airport in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Prestwick to/from Stansted 
			  "Other" class category:  Number (nearest thousand) 
			 Non-response(1) 7,000 
			 Other ticket types(2) 0 
			 Total 7,000 
			 (1) Non-response results from the question not being asked or a passenger refusing to answer. (2) Other ticket types are those tickets that could not categorised into business or economy and include types of promotional tickets, e.g. two for one.  Source: CAA passenger Survey

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1674W, on Air Services, if he will break down into sub-categories the figures for the "other" category for air services between Glasgow airport and  (a) London Heathrow,  (b) Manchester International,  (c) Birmingham International,  (d) Leeds Bradford International and  (e) Nottingham East Midlands airports.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of "other" class category passengers carried between Glasgow airport and London Heathrow, Manchester International, Birmingham International, Leeds Bradford International and Nottingham East Midlands airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number (nearest thousand) 
			   "Other" class category:  
			  Glasgow to/from:  Non-response( 1)  Other ticket types( 2)  Total 
			 London Heathrow 66,000 3,000 68,000 
			 Manchester International 3,000 1,000 4,000 
			 Birmingham International 2,000 1,000 3,000 
			 Leeds Bradford International 0 0 0 
			 Nottingham East Midlands 3,000 0 3,000 
			 (1) Non-response results from the question not being asked or a passenger refusing to answer. (2) Other ticket types are those tickets that could not be categorised into business or economy and include types of promotional tickets, e.g. two for one.  Source: CAA passenger Survey

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2076W, on air services, if he will break down into sub-categories the figures for the "other" category for air services between Glasgow airport and  (a) London Gatwick,  (b) London Stansted and  (c) Luton airports.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of "other" class category passengers carried between Glasgow airport and London Gatwick, London Stansted and Luton airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  "Other" Class Category 
			  Number (nearest thousand) 
			  Glasgow to/from  Non-response( 1)  Other ticket types( 2)  Total 
			 London Gatwick 24,000 4,000 28,000 
			 London Stansted 11,000 1,000 12,000 
			 Luton 8,000 0 8,000 
			 (1) Non-response results from the question not being asked or a passenger refusing to answer. (2) Other ticket types are those tickets that could not be categorised into business or economy and include types of promotional tickets, e.g. two for one.  Source: CAA passenger Survey

Bridges: Thames Gateway

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review his assessment of the potential benefits of the Thames Gateway bridge following the publication of the Stern review report on the economics of climate change.

Stephen Ladyman: In reaching decisions on funding the Thames Gateway bridge, the climate change implications were one of the factors considered. The conclusions of the Stern review do not have any significant impact on the scheme's value for money.

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has  (a) a gender strategy and  (b) a gender equality action plan in place.

Gillian Merron: The Department will be taking the steps outlined in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930) which should come into force on 6 April 2007.
	The Department will be publishing its gender equality scheme and action plan by 30 April 2007. This will set out the key activities the Department will undertake over the next three years.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport was established in May 2002. There is no information available in relation to staff exit schemes for years 1997 to 2001-02.
	The following table represents spend on voluntary staff exit schemes for the Department for Transport and its agencies. There were no exits on an involuntary basis except for the Vehicle Certification Agency in 2005-06 at a cost of £19,545.
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			 2002-03 671,000 
			 2003-04 1.7 million 
			 2004-05 7.1 million 
			 2005-06 10.4 million 
			 2006-07 14.7 million 
			 2007-08 4.9 million 
		
	
	 DfT(Centre). There are no firm plans for DfT(C) early exit schemes during 2007-08.
	 Government Car and Despatch Agency spent £7,000 on voluntary staff exit scheme in 2001-02.
	DfT(C), Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and Driving Standards Agency can provide information for 2002-03 only at disproportionate cost.

East Coast Railway Line

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with the East of England Regional Assembly on the upgrade of the east coast mainline; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: Department officials are scheduled to meet with officers of the East of England Regional Assembly on 5 March to discuss rail planning issues across the east of England as a whole.
	The Government will set out the high level outputs they will be seeking from Network Rail on the east coast main line in its high level output specification (HLOS) document to be issued in the summer. In this it will take into account Network Rail's draft east coast main line route utilisation strategy, which is expected to be issued in May or June of this year.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what targets he has set for reducing vehicle excise duty evasion; and whether there are any proposals to change it.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 27 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 1246-47W. This target is under review.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency spent on the MOT system in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the written answers of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, column 591W and of 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1897W.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of  (a) cars and  (b) other road vehicles that require an MOT each year.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 380W.

MSC Napoli

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account the inquiry into the grounding of the MSC Napoli is taking of the implications of the different  (a) languages spoken and  (b) maritime backgrounds of the crew of the vessel for safety of its operation.

Stephen Ladyman: These are just two of the many factors that are being considered by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch as part of their inquiry into this accident.

Railways: East Anglia

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to evaluate the new east-west rail routes across East Anglia from the east midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Department is not aware of any proposals for new east-west rail routes across East Anglia from the east Midlands. The Department is currently working with Network Rail on the detailed case for Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) funding for the Peterborough to Nuneaton rail freight gauge and capacity enhancement scheme. In conjunction with the separate scheme to "gauge clear" the route between Ipswich and Peterborough, this scheme would complete a second route between the port of Felixstowe and the west coast main line gauge cleared for 9' 6" containers.

Railways: Thames Valley

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what basis his Department determined the level of train services required in Service Level Commitment 2 for the Greater Western Franchise relating to services to Twyford, Maidenhead and the Henley and Bourne End branch lines.

Tom Harris: To determine the train service requirement for the Greater Western franchise the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), starting from the 2004 timetable, identified potential service pattern changes to improve operational performance and efficiency, and to maximise the opportunities from merging the then existing franchises. A range of options was linked to service pattern changes to meet the franchise objectives, and these were amalgamated to determine the most appropriate specification.
	The franchise specification was then developed by testing and developing options in the outline and detailed specification phases. Technical Advisers supporting the SRA investigated an initial package of options that were informed by the general, franchise and service group objectives which were developed and agreed at the beginning of the process. Network Rail supported the process through timetabling analysis.

Railways: Thames Valley

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which  (a) passenger groups,  (b) user representatives and  (c) other bodies were consulted on the content of Service Level Commitment 2 for the Greater Western Franchise prior to finalising that document.

Tom Harris: The Strategic Rail Authority initiated stakeholder consultation on the Great Western franchise in June 2005. The Department for Transport published a report on the consultation on 6 October 2005, and the report is available on the Department's website.

Railways: Thames Valley

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of passenger numbers using  (a) individual train services and  (b) individual stations on the services run by FGW Link prior to finalising Service Level Commitment 2 for the Greater Western Franchise.

Tom Harris: As a basis for determining the train service specification for the Greater Western Franchise on routes formerly served by FGW Link, the Strategic Rail Authority established passenger loads on all weekday services arriving at London Paddington between 7 am and 10 am, and departing from London Paddington between 4 pm and 7 pm in November 2003.

Railways: Thames Valley

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions were held between his Department and FGW following representations on the December 2006 timetable for services  (a) to Maidenhead and Twyford and  (b) on the Henley and Bourne End branch lines; and what changes to the proposed services were considered as a result.

Tom Harris: First Great Western (FGW) carried out a public consultation on its proposed December 2006 timetable in February and March 2006. Following this, the Secretary of State and FGW held discussions about changes to the timetable and consequential amendments to the train service specification in response to the summary of representations prepared by FGW.
	FGW also informed the Secretary of State of the changes it was planning to make to the timetable on 15 January 2007 and the further changes which it is considering making with effect from 20 May 2007.

Railways: Yorkshire and Humberside

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to increase rail capacity in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport recognises the success of the rail industry in attracting new passengers. There are a number of activities currently under way to quantify future demand in the Yorkshire and Humber region and to deliver a level of service that meets this. The Department is currently producing a regional planning assessment for the region, which will identify the role that the railway needs to play over the next 20 years in supporting the economic growth of the region. At the same time, Network Rail is producing a route utilisation strategy for Yorkshire and Humber, which will focus on improvements that can be made to the existing railway to provide an optimal level of service and capacity.
	In addition to this, the Department is currently producing its high level output specification, which will set out the Department's objectives for the national rail network during the next industry funding period between 2009 and 2014. One of the key issues to be addressed in this period is the provision of sufficient capacity to meet future growth projections for rail travel.
	In addition to these longer term activities, the department works closely with current train operators and other local stakeholders to identify and secure value for money opportunities to provide additional capacity. The introduction by Transpennine Express of its new class 185 fleet has expanded a number of services to three car operation as well as providing local passengers with an improved environment on their services. The Department has also worked closely with Northern Rail and West Yorkshire passenger transport executive to secure an additional six class 158 trains for services in west Yorkshire to address passenger growth in this area.

Tolls

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent he expects the costs of a national road pricing scheme to be covered by the revenue generated.

Stephen Ladyman: No decisions have been made on national road pricing. For any scheme that might be developed the costs of the scheme would have to be reasonable and justified by the benefits.

Tolls

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will undertake research to estimate the number of voluntary workers who would be affected by the introduction of road pricing;
	(2)  if he will undertake research to estimate the cost of road pricing to public sector employees.

Stephen Ladyman: The impact of any scheme will depend upon its detailed design. No decision has yet been made on national road pricing, and no scheme has been designed. Proposals for local schemes are still at the development stage.

Tolls

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he intends the roll-out of  (a) local road pricing schemes under the Transport Innovation Fund and  (b) the national road pricing system to use the EU's (i) European Geostationary navigation overlay service and (ii) Galileo satellite system, further to Article 2 of EU Directive 2004/52/EC.

Stephen Ladyman: Decisions concerning the technologies used for local road pricing schemes under the Transport Innovation Fund are for the scheme promoters, in compliance with the Road Tolling (Interoperability of Electronic Road User Charging and Road Tolling Systems) Regulations 2007.
	The Government continue to examine the feasibility of national road pricing, and have made no decision in relation to the range of technologies that might be used to deliver it.

Tolls: Blackwall Tunnel

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had on tolling  (a) the A102 Blackwall Tunnel approach road and  (b) the Blackwall Tunnel; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Secretary of State for Transport has been involved in no discussions on tolling of either the Blackwall Tunnel or its approach road.

West Coast Railway Line

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has invested in the West Coast Main Line upgrade.

Tom Harris: The investment made in the West Coast Main Line upgrade is to date is £7.225 billion.

Wrexham-Bidston Railway Line

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the economic effects of the electrification of the Wrexham-Bidston railway line;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the electrification of the Wrexham-Bidston railway line;
	(3)  what discussions he has held with  (a) local authorities and  (b) local transport authorities regarding the electrification of the Wrexham-Bidston railway line;
	(4)  what discussions he has held with counterparts in the Welsh Assembly Government regarding the electrification of the Wrexham-Bidston railway line;
	(5)  what representations he has received regarding the electrification of the Wrexham-Bidston railway line.

Tom Harris: We are committed to working with the Welsh Assembly Government and other partners on the promotion and development of cross-border transport links. Improving connectivity to major employment centres in North East Wales and Cheshire is one of the rail options being evaluated in high level terms by the Wales Rail Planning Assessment. The consortium of north Wales transport authorities has been consulted during work on the Assessment, which is a joint planning study for the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department for Transport.
	I recognise that there is considerable support in North West England and in Wales for improvements to the Wrexham-Bidston line. I welcome the co-operation that is taking place between Merseytravel passenger transport executive, English and Welsh transport authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government to examine potential improvements, including electrification. Merseytravel and the Welsh Assembly Government, working with partners, have jointly commissioned Network Rail to undertake a feasibility study of electrification of the line.
	I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues and the Assembly Minister on transport matters affecting Wales. Department for Transport officials are keeping in close touch with officials from the Welsh Assembly Government and Merseytravel about the electrification study but it would be premature to speculate on any conclusions.
	Once the outcome of studies is known, and subject to available funding and discussions with interested parties, Merseytravel PTE will consider whether a scheme is suitable to promote for major scheme funding as part of the second Local Transport Plan for Merseyside covering the period 2006-11. The Department for Transport and the Government Office for the North West have regular meetings with Merseytravel and local authorities to discuss implementation of Local Transport Plans.
	A decision to proceed with electrification would be subject to producing a business case with Network Rail and the rail industry, and securing the necessary funding. It would be necessary to show that sufficient extra passenger numbers would be likely to use the electrified service to make it a value for money option. It would be for the authorities in the North West Region to justify such expenditure against other priorities and to secure this via their allocated regional funding.

HEALTH

Childbirth: Leicestershire

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born in NHS maternity units in Leicestershire in each year since 1997.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 March 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about how many babies were born in NHS maternity units in Leicestershire in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (123185)
	There are two NHS maternity units in Leicester Unitary Authority: Leicester General Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary. In addition there is an NHS midwife-led unit within the boundaries of the current county of Leicestershire: St. Mary's Hospital in Melton Mowbray.
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2005. The following table shows the number of live births in these three units for each year between 1997 and 2005.
	
		
			  Live births in NHS maternity and midwife-led units in Leicester UA and Leicestershire county, 1997 to 2005 
			   Leicester General Hospital (maternity unit)  Leicester Royal Infirmary (maternity unit)  St. Mary's Hospital, Melton Mowbray (midwife-led unit) 
			 1997 3,654 5,508 258 
			 1998 3,538 5,593 221 
			 1999 3,634 5,420 225 
			 2000 3,483 5,244 192 
			 2001 3,299 5,269 190 
			 2002 3,456 5,227 228 
			 2003 3,685 5,135 224 
			 2004 3,831 5,372 230 
			 2005 4,031 5,265 273

Dental Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  on what estimate of the number of patients exempt from paying charges under the new dental contract system the new NHS dental contract was based; how many such patients have been treated since the introduction of the new contract; what difference in income to primary care trusts (PCTs) has resulted; and what assessment she has made of the impact of that difference on the finances of PCTs;
	(2)  what account her Department has taken of the number of patients exempt from patient charges in formulating the percentage of income given to primary care trusts from the patient charge revenue under the new dental contract.

Rosie Winterton: The financial allocations given to primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2006-07 to support commissioning of primary dental care services took account of the latest available data for each individual PCT on the relative proportions of chargeable and non-chargeable courses of treatment in the former general dental services. Data on the profile of patients treated in 2006-07, the first year of the new service arrangements, are not yet available. It is for PCTs to monitor and manage patient charge revenue locally in the context of managing their overall net financial commitments.
	There are a number of factors that may affect levels of patient charge income for PCTs. These include the overall volume of dental services commissioned by the PCT, the time needed for new services to be commissioned and come into operation, the timeliness of the reports submitted by dentists on completed courses of treatment, the mix of services commissioned by PCTs, the mix of charge-paying and charge-exempt patients at individual practice level, and the incidence of certain charge-free courses of treatment for patients who normally pay charges.

Dental Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision was put in place to compensate primary care trusts which suffered a financial shortfall as a result of reduced patient care revenue  (a) during trials of the new dental contract system prior to April 2006 and  (b) after its launch in April 2006.

Rosie Winterton: Prior to April 2006, the Department made individual funding allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) in respect of personal dental services pilots. Where necessary, these allocations took account of reasonable changes in treatment activity and charge income levels as a result of testing new ways of working. Under the dental reforms introduced from April 2006, resources for primary dental care services have been fully devolved to PCTs. It is for PCTs locally to manage expenditure and income associated with dental services in the context of managing their overall net financial commitments.

General Practitioners: Pay

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average annual income of a GP is; and what it was in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2001 and (c) 2005.

Andy Burnham: The most recent year for which information is available is 2004-05.
	
		
			  Average general practitioner net income (national health service only), Great Britain 
			   Intended average net remuneration/income (£) 
			 1997-98 46,031 
			 2001-02 56,510 
		
	
	
		
			  Estimated average GP net income (all sources), United Kingdom 
			   £ 
			 2004-05 100,000 
		
	
	The concept of intended average net remuneration disappeared with the introduction of the new CMS contract in 2003-04. Information on GP income is now derived from HM Revenue and Customs tax self-assessment database which relates to income from all sources, NHS and private. Information for 2005-06 will not be available until late 2007. The 2004-05 estimate excludes an average of approximately £6,000 per GP in respect of employer's superannuation contributions.

Health Services

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of healthcare she estimates takes place outside hospital; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: We estimate that around 90 per cent. of people's contacts with the health service take place outside hospitals. "Our Health Our Care Our Say: a new direction for community services" set out our intention to ensure that the public has access to as much care in convenient settings as possible.

Health Services: Accidents

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the costs to the NHS of treating people injured in road accidents in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested.
	However, hospitals have for more than 70 years been able to recover the costs of providing treatment to the victims of road traffic accidents where the injured person successfully claims personal injury compensation from the person responsible for causing the injury through their insurer. The Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 introduced a streamlined, centralised recovery scheme, operated by the compensation recovery unit, part of the Department for Work and Pensions, on behalf of the Secretary of State. Recoveries for each of the past five years are as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2001 98,278,603 
			 2002 105,025,336 
			 2003 105,654,936 
			 2004 117,504,738 
			 2005 121,500,568

Health Services: Thames Gateway

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the projected population increases used to determine the revenue allocations to primary care trusts within the Thames Gateway for  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) thereafter include the entirety of the population increase likely to be accommodated as a result of the further increased rate of housebuilding for London announced in November 2006 in the Thames Gateway Interim Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The 2006-07 and 2007-08 allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) use population projections published by the Office for National Statistics. Additionally, and in conjunction with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the Department included within these allocations a formula adjustment for the growth areas including Thames Gateway to support the sustainable communities plan.
	For the adjustment, DCLG provided variant population projections which forecast until 2016 the population resulting from additional homes over and above regional planning guidance in the growth areas. The growth area adjustment incorporates the relevant part of these variant population projections for 2006-07 and 2007-08.
	The population base for revenue allocations to PCTs post 2007-08 is currently being reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. This will include looking again at the adjustment applied to the target position of PCTs that are in the DCLG growth areas.

Home Births

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many home births there were in each region of England in each year since 1997; in which area in each year the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest percentage of births took place in the home; and what the percentage figure was in each case.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 March 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about how many home births there were in each region of England in each year since 1997; in which area in each year the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest percentage of births took place in the home; and what the percentage figure was in each case. I am replying in her absence. (122641)
	The attached table shows the number of live births taking place at home in each region of England each year between 1997 and 2005. It also shows the percentage of all live births taking place at home in each region every year. In each of the nine years, the South West had the highest percentage of births taking place at home, while the North East had the lowest.
	
		
			  Live births taking place at home by Government Office Region( 1)  in England, 1997 to 2005 Number of live births at home and number of live births at home as a percentage of all live births 
			   Home births 
			   1997  1998  1999 
			  Government Office Region  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 North East 334 1.1 299 1.0 260 0.9 
			 North West 1,162 1.4 1,038 1.3 1,004 1.3 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 893 1.5 948 1.6 892 1.5 
			 East Midlands 852 1.8 880 1.8 889 1.9 
			 West Midlands 1,029 1.5 947 1.5 896 1.4 
			 Eastern 1,800 2.8 1,761 2.7 1,739 2.8 
			 London 2,579 2.4 2,397 2.3 2,253 2.1 
			 South East 2,893 3.0 2,803 2.9 2,728 2.9 
			 South West 2,050 3.8 2,013 3.7 1,876 3.6 
			 Total England 13,592 2.2 13,086 2.2 12,537 2.1 
		
	
	
		
			   2000  2001  2002 
			  Government Office Region  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 North East 250 0.9 286 1.1 276 1.1 
			 North West 920 1.2 865 1.2 933 1.2 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 981 1.8 845 1.5 873 1.6 
			 East Midlands 859 1.9 812 1.8 912 2.0 
			 West Midlands 836 1.4 858 1.4 805 1.3 
			 Eastern 1,642 2.7 1,609 2.7 1,837 3.1 
			 London 2,190 2.1 2,058 2.0 2,000 1.9 
			 South East 2,581 2.9 2,466 2.8 2,573 2.9 
			 South West 1,828 3.7 1,737 3.6 1,834 3.7 
			 Total England 12,087 2.1 11,536 2.0 12,043 2.1 
		
	
	
		
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  Government Office Region  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 North East 279 1.0 327 1.2 319 1.1 
			 North West 1,085 1.4 1,241 1.5 1,455 1.8 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 951 1.6 1,015 1.7 1,101 1.8 
			 East Midlands 994 2.1 1,080 2.2 1,274 2.6 
			 West Midlands 973 1.5 978 1.5 1,146 1.7 
			 Eastern 1,860 3.0 2,050 3.2 2,318 3.6 
			 London 2,002 1.8 2,034 1.8 2,359 2.0 
			 South East 2,666 2.9 2,831 3.0 3,219 3.4 
			 South West 1,912 3.7 1,949 3.7 2,128 4.0 
			 Total England 12,722 2.2 13,505 2.2 15,319 2.5 
			 (1) Births are assigned to Government Office Region according to the usual residence of the mother at the date of the birth, as stated at registration.  Note: The table excludes a small number of live births occurring in England each year to mothers whose usual residence was outside England and Wales.  Source:  Fertility Analysis Unit, Office for National Statistics

Hospitals: Admissions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts  (a) have introduced referral management schemes over the past 12 months and  (b) plan to introduce referral management schemes over the next 12 months.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally. The use of referral management schemes is for local determination.

Human Embryo Experiments

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a copy of the legal opinion provided to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in relation to animal/human hybrids and chimeras for research.

Caroline Flint: I am unable to place a copy of the legal opinion provided to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in the Library. The legal advice is the property of the HFEA and I understand that the HFEA does not publish the legal advice it receives, as it is protected by legal professional privilege.

Multiple Sclerosis: Charities

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the merits of exempting not-for-profit charities which run multiple sclerosis therapy centres from inspection fees by the Healthcare Commission.

Andy Burnham: We have made no such assessments.
	The Healthcare Commission has just consulted on its proposals for regulatory fees for the independent healthcare sector in 2007-08. The consultation period ended on 20 February. The consultation document includes a section on providers which depend on voluntary donations.
	Independent healthcare providers could comment on any aspect of the revised fee structure in their responses to the consultation. The Chairman of the Healthcare Commission has confirmed that in determining the final proposals it puts to the Secretary of State the Commission will take full account of the comments it receives.
	The consultation document is available on the Healthcare Commission's website:
	www.healthcarecommission.org.uk

NHS: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have turnaround teams in place.

Andy Burnham: A list of primary care trusts (PCTs) within the national turnaround programme is provided as follows. These will have in place or have already received turnaround support. Other PCTs may have, together with their strategic health authorities, determined the need for additional support but, as this is a local decision, the Department does not hold specific information on such arrangements.
	
		
			  SHA  Organisation 
			 East Midlands Leicester City West PCT 
			 East Midlands High Peak and Dales PCT 
			 East Midlands Charnwood and NW Leicestershire PCT 
			 East Midlands Eastern Leicester PCT 
			 East Midlands Hinckley and Bosworth PCT 
			 East Midlands Melton, Rutland and Harborough PCT 
			 East Midlands Northamptonshire Heartlands PCT 
			 East Midlands South Leicestershire PCT 
			 East of England Waveney PCT 
			 East of England Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 
			 East of England Dacorum PCT 
			 East of England Cambridge City PCT 
			 East of England Colchester PCT 
			 East of England South Cambridgeshire PCT 
			 East of England Bedfordshire Heartlands PCT 
			 East of England Broadlands PCT 
			 East of England Chelmsford PCT 
			 East of England Ipswich PCT 
			 East of England North Norfolk PCT 
			 East of England Southern Norfolk PCT 
			 East of England Suffolk Coastal PCT 
			 East of England Suffolk West PCT 
			 East of England Witham, Braintree, and Halstead Care PCT 
			 East of England Tendring PCT 
			 East of England Hertsmere PCT 
			 East of England Luton PCT 
			 East of England St Albans & Harpenden PCT 
			 East of England Watford and 3 Rivers PCT 
			 London Hillingdon PCT 
			 London Bexley PCT 
			 London Hounslow PCT 
			 London Kensington and Chelsea PCT 
			 London Kingston PCT 
			 London Lewisham PCT 
			 London Wandsworth PCT 
			 London Bromley PCT 
			 London Harrow PCT 
			 London Sutton and Merton PCT 
			 North East Sedgefield PCT 
			 North West Cheshire West PCT 
			 North West North Cumbria PCTs (WCumb/Eden/Carlisle) 
			 Northwest Morecambe Bay PCT 
			 South Central East Hampshire PCT 
			 South Central Fareham and Gosport PCT 
			 South Central Bracknell Forest PCT 
			 South Central Slough PCT 
			 South Central South East Oxfordshire PCT 
			 South Central Wycombe PCT 
			 South Central Isle of Wight PCT 
			 South Central New Forest PCT 
			 South Central North Hampshire PCT 
			 South Central Chiltern and South Bucks PCT 
			 South Central Milton Keynes PCT 
			 South Central North East Oxfordshire PCT 
			 South Central Oxford City PCT 
			 South Central South West Oxfordshire PCT 
			 South Central Vale of Aylesbury PCT 
			 South Central Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead PCT 
			 South East Coast East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT 
			 South East Coast Guildford and Waverley PCT 
			 South East Coast Maidstone Weald PCT (same as SW Kent) 
			 South East Coast SW Kent PCT (same as Maidstone Weald) 
			 South East Coast Eastbourne Downs PCT 
			 South West Kennet and North Wiltshire PCT 
			 South West West Wiltshire PCT 
			 South West Cotswold and Vale PCT 
			 South West North Somerset PCT 
			 South West South Wiltshire PCT 
			 West Midlands North Stoke PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Selby and York PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Sheffield North PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Sheffield South East PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Sheffield South West PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Sheffield West PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire Wolds and Coast PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Barnsley PCT 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber North Lines PCT

NHS: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what contingencies the NHS Contingency Fund has been used in 2006-07.

Andy Burnham: As announced in our quarter three, 2006-07 national health service finance report, strategic health authorities have identified savings of £450 million through their continued prudent management of the central NHS programme budgets. These savings are available to offset the deduction made to NHS resources in the current financial year in respect of prior year overspends, so that, at quarter three, the NHS is forecasting a net surplus of £13 million.

NHS: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the 2006-07 Centrally Funded Initiatives and Services and Special Allocations has increased from previous plans; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Full year 2006-07 information on centrally funded initiatives services and special allocations is not yet available but will be published in the 2006-07 Departmental Report, that has an estimated publishing date of May 2007. The report will provide a breakdown of the centrally funded initiatives services and special allocations main budget lines.

NHS: Finance

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the per capita funding for each primary care trust in England  (a) is in 2006-07 and  (b) will be in 2007-08.

Andy Burnham: This information has been placed in the Library for the 303 primary care trusts to which the allocations were made. The number of PCTs reduced from 303 to 152 on 1 October 2006.

NHS: Public Appointments

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which non-executive members of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Acute Hospital Trust board reside in the catchment area of the trust; and which do not.

Rosie Winterton: The appointment of non-executive directors of national health service trusts has been delegated to the Appointments Commission. I have asked Sir William Wells, Chairman, to write to the hon. Member with the detailed information requested.

Primary Health Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the 500 primary care centres which have been built since 1997, as stated on page three of her Department's National Director for Primary Care's report, "Keeping it personal—clinical case for change", published on 5 February.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not collected centrally. Returns provided by strategic health authorities (SHAs) do not record details of individual primary care centres, only the number created in each SHA.

Russells Hall Hospital

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the original cost was of the fixed price contract for redevelopment of Russells Hall hospital; and what the final cost was following completion of the contract;
	(2)  how the final cost of the contract for redevelopment of Russells Hall hospital was funded.

Andy Burnham: At contract signature (May 2001) the unitary charge (the annual payment by Dudley group of hospitals national health service trust to its private sector partner for construction and provision of long term support services) for the private finance initiative contract for the redevelopment of Russells Hall hospital was £26.7 million. Subsequent increases resulting from a variation to the pathology contract; an extension to information technology services; support services (maintenance, cleaning etc) for additional buildings and equipment required by the trust; and the annual inflationary uplift has increased this to £30 million.
	In addition, the trust and its private sector partner, Summit Healthcare (Dudley) Ltd. agreed to a one-off settlement in respect of the cost of providing the additional buildings and equipment. This is being funded through a combination of the Department increasing the revenue allocation for the trust and providing additional capital.

Sheppey Community Hospital: Dermatology

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the most recent dermatology clinic was held at Sheppey Community Hospital.

Rosie Winterton: This is a matter for the local national health service and this information is not held centrally.

TREASURY

Death: Alcoholic Drinks

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many alcohol-related deaths there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by  (a) parliamentary constituency and  (b) local authority area.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, date 2 March 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many alcohol-related deaths there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area. I am replying in her absence. (124980)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause in each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales, in 2005 (the latest year available). A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause in each local authority district in England and Wales, in 2005 (the latest year available), was provided in the Answer to Question 95456, which can be found in Hansard No. 450 of October 2006, col. 1627.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: holding answer 27 February 2007
	The costs of early severance and early retirement for the Treasury and the Debt Management Office, its executive agency, for the completed financial years from 1997-98 to date are as follows. An analysis of the costs between voluntary and involuntary schemes could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Estimates of 2007-08 costs are not available.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Treasury  Debt Management Office 
			 1997-98 1,601 n/a 
			 1998-99 1,457 0 
			 1999-2000 1,299 0 
			 2000-01 2,866 0 
			 2001-02 1,276 0 
			 2002-03 1,221 0 
			 2003-04 2,926 518 
			 2004-05 2,178 0 
			 2005-06 766 0 
			  Note: The DMO was formed on 1 April 1998.

EC Enlargement: Immigration

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have come to the UK to reside from  (a) the Czech Republic,  (b) Estonia,  (c) Cyprus,  (d) Latvia,  (e) Lithuania,  (f) Hungary,  (g) Malta,  (h) Poland,  (i) Slovenia,  (j) Slovakia,  (k) Bulgaria and  (l) Romania since the accession to the EU of the country concerned.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 March 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to a reply to your question concerning how many people have come to reside from a) the Czech Republic, b) Estonia, c) Cyprus, d) Latvia, e) Lithuania, f) Hungary, g) Malta, h) Poland, i) Slovenia, j) Slovakia, k) Bulgaria and 1) Romania since the accession to the EU of the country concerned. I am replying in her absence. (124091)
	The Office for National Statistics uses the UN definition of an international migrant as someone who changes their country of usual residence for at least a year so that the country of destination effectively becomes the country of usual residence.
	Total International Migration (TIM) estimates of citizens from these countries since they acceded to the EU are shown in the attached table. The data covers 2004 and 2005 calendar years combined. More recent data are not yet available. Therefore, it is not yet possible to provide post-accession TIM estimates of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens as they only acceded to the European Union on 1 January 2007.
	
		
			  Table 1. Total international migration( 1)  estimates of A10 citizens 2004-05 combined( 2)  United Kingdom 
			  Thousand 
			  Country of citizenship  Inflow  Outflow  Net flow( 3) 
			 Poland 76 (4)4 71 
			 Slovakia 15 (4)2 13 
			 Lithuania 14 (4)2 12 
			 Czech Republic 14 (4)7 7 
			 
			 Other A10(5) 18 6 13 
			 Estonia — — — 
			 Latvia — — — 
			 Hungary — — — 
			 Slovenia — — — 
			 Cyprus — — — 
			 Malta — — — 
			 
			 Total A10 136 21 116 
			 (1) Based mainly on data from the international Passenger Survey. Includes adjustments for (1) those whose intended length of stay changes so that their migrant status changes; (2) asylum seekers and their dependants not identified by the IPS; and (3) flows between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. (2) Calendar years 2004 and 2005 combined. Estimates are based on the whole of 2004 and so may include some migration prior to the date of accession on 1 May 2004. (3) The net flow is the difference between inflows and outflows. (4) Estimates are not statistically robust (5) Neither the inflow or outflow estimates for Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta are sufficiently robust to be shown separately.  Note: Figures have been rounded independently and may not add to totals.

Life Expectancy

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average life expectancy was in  (a) the UK,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) Ribble Valley in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 March 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the average life expectancy was in (a) the UK, (b) Lancashire and (c) Ribble Valley in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.I am replying in her absence. (124307)
	Life expectancy figures are calculated as three year rolling averages, for the UK, government office regions and local authorities. The attached table provides the period life expectancy at birth for men and women in (a) the UK, (b) the North West government office region, which includes the county of Lancashire, and {c) Ribble Valley local authority district, in (i) 1996-98 and (ii) 2003-05 (the latest period available).
	
		
			  Table 1: period life expectancy at birth( 1) , UK, North West government office region, Ribble Valley local authority district, 1996-98 and 2003-05( 2,3) 
			  Years of life 
			   Male  Female 
			  Year( 3)  Life expectancy  95 per cent. confidence interval( 4)  Life expectancy  95 per cent. confidence interval( 4) 
			  UK 
			 1996-98 74.5 — 79.6 — 
			 2003-05 76.6 — 80.9 — 
			  
			  North West government office region
			 1996-98 73.4 (73.3 -73.5) 78.5 (78.4 -78.6) 
			 2003-05 75.4 (75.3 -75.5) 79.9 (79.8 -80.0) 
			  
			  Ribble Valley local authority district
			 1996-98 75.2 (74.1 -76.2) 79.8 (78.9 -80.7) 
			 2003-05 77.4 (76.5 -78.4) 82.1 (81.3 -83.0) 
			 (1) Period life expectancy at birth is an estimate of the average number of years a newborn baby would survive if he or she experienced the area's age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life. The figure reflects mortality among those living in the area in each time period, rather than mortality among those born in each area. It is not therefore the number of years a baby born in the area in each time period could actually expect to live, both because the death rates of the area are likely to change in the future and because many of those born in the area will live elsewhere for at least some part of their lives. (2) Using government office region and local authority boundaries as of 2006 for all the years shown. (3) Three year rolling averages, based on deaths registered in each year and mid-year population estimates. (4) Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. The confidence interval for life expectancy for the UK as a whole is less than 0.1 years.

Ministerial Travel

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many miles were travelled by his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials on Government business by (i) air, (ii) rail and (iii) road in 2006.

John Healey: The Treasury does not keep records of travel by length of journey, so the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code. The Treasury has and encourages the use of video conferencing and telephone conferencing facilities as an alternative to travel to meetings. Since April 2006, the Treasury has contributed to the carbon offsetting scheme run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to offset ministerial and official air travel.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Ministerial Visit

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) expected cost is of the Minister for culture's forthcoming visit to Australia and New Zealand.

David Lammy: I was invited by the New Zealand Government to undertake a range of cultural engagements of shared interest to our two countries which included meetings with the New Zealand Prime Minister and Minister for Culture as well the Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The programme also included a keynote address at the New Zealand Public Libraries Summit.
	In Melbourne I was to meet the Victoria Minister for the Arts and give a keynote speech at the Victoria State Library. The Sydney programme included a meeting with the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs to discuss the repatriation of aboriginal human remains and work related to the 2012 Olympics.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	The visit has since been cancelled due to parliamentary business. My keynote speech to the New Zealand Public Libraries Summit was subsequently delivered by podcast. I hope to reschedule the meeting with the Chair of UNESCO. The Prime Minister wrote to the Prime Minister of New Zealand announcing Government funding towards the work of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.
	The total cost to the public purse of the cancelled visit was £722.

Cultural Heritage: Cotswolds

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding she has provided to the Cotswold Academy to develop skills-based training for those wanting to work in the heritage industry.

David Lammy: The Department supports the aims of the Cotswold Heritage Academy in their development of skills based training. As announced in September 2006, CITB-Construction Skills has given the Cotswold Heritage Academy £50,000 of start up funding over two years as part of a cross-Government strategy to address the need for training in heritage skills.

Departments: Secondment

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many employees her Department has on secondment to outside organisations, broken down by salary grade.

David Lammy: The number of employees Department for Culture, Media and Sport has on secondment to outside organisations, broken down by grade, is set out in the table. These figures are as at 31 January 2007.
	
		
			  Secondments Out 
			   Number 
			 SCS 2 
			 Grade A (U) 3 
			 Grade A 5 
			 Grade B 7 
			 Grade C 6 
			 Grade D 0

Digital Switchover

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what the expected cost to the public purse is of state support to people on benefits for digital switchover;
	(2)  what the expected cost is to the public purse of supporting the transfer to digital television; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: pursuant to the reply, 9 January 2007, Official Report, c. 493W
	I regret that in my previous answer the figure of £228 million given for the cost to the BBC to support Digital UK for the period of digital switchover was incorrect. The correct figure is £216 million. The full correct response to your questions is as follows:
	In addition to meeting its costs for the upgrade of the transmission network for digital switchover, the BBC will meet Digital UK's communication costs and a share of Digital UK's operational costs. The cost to the BBC to support Digital UK amounts to £216 million for the period of digital switchover. In addition, the BBC will also fund the digital switchover help scheme for people 75 or over or who have a significant disability. Our best estimate at this stage is that the cost of the scheme will be at or around £600 million over the period of switchover.
	There are no central estimates of the overall cost to Government of digital switchover. However, other than the costs of updating television equipment within the Government sector, the only costs will be those incurred for research, communications and other programme support costs for the Digital Switchover Programme.

Public Libraries: Internet

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what guidance her Department issues to those local authorities which charge for internet access from People's Network computers in public libraries on the model of charging used;
	(2)  what advice her Department has issued to local authorities in determining whether to charge for internet access from People's Network computers in public libraries;
	(3)  what social inclusion criteria guidance her Department has issued to local authorities that charge for internet access from People's Network computers in public libraries.

David Lammy: When the People's Network was introduced, the intention was that access should be provided free universally at point of use. At the Network's launch (2002), the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council issued guidance requiring that any authority deciding to charge for access should demonstrate that a social inclusion commitment would be met before any funds were released. The majority of the 149 library authorities did not charge for provision of access to the internet but the small number of local authorities which thought they might, reported that there would usually be free or concessionary access for groups including people with disabilities and the unemployed.
	However, the decision whether or not to charge for this access rests with individual local authorities and neither guidance on whether to charge, nor models for charging is issued by DCMS.

Public Libraries: Internet

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of local authorities which charge local residents for internet access from People's Network computers in public libraries.

David Lammy: The majority of the 149 library authorities do not charge for public access to the People's Network. DCMS are aware that 25 local authorities charge for access. They are the following: Barnet, Bath and North East Somerset, Buckinghamshire, Camden, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Darlington, Devon, Enfield, Luton, Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Peterborough, Rutland, Staffordshire, Tameside, Torbay, Trafford, West Sussex, and Wirral. Many of these authorities offer free internet access for a period each day or free or concessionary access for groups typically including people with a disability and the unemployed.

Public Libraries: Internet

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding has been provided from the public purse for the provision of the People's Network programme to  (a) Bath and North East Somerset,  (b) South Gloucestershire,  (c) Cornwall,  (d) Torbay and  (e) Devon councils since 2002.

David Lammy: No direct Government funding was made available for the provision of the People's Network programme. The People's Network was funded by the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) (now the Big Lottery Fund). Additional funding was made available by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to supplement infrastructure roll-out in the most economically and socially deprived areas of the UK.
	Funding made available since 2002 for the authorities specified was as follows:
	
		
			  NOF funding 
			   Amount (£) 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 286,596 
			 South Gloucestershire 341,013 
			 Cornwall 396,288 
			 Torbay 141,403 
			 Devon 1,306,008

Public Libraries: Internet

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of those local authorities which only allow full internet access from People's Network computers in public libraries through the levy of a fee which do so without any free time being made available.

David Lammy: None. These data are not held centrally.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Bereavement Benefit

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the possible effect of the centralising of Jobcentre Plus Benefit Delivery Centres on the time taken to process bereavement benefit claims; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average time taken was to process bereavement benefit claims in each month since January 2006, broken down by region.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 2 March 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what assessment he has made of the possible effect of the centralising of Jobcentre Plus Benefit Delivery Centres on the time taken to process bereavement benefit claims; and what the average time taken was to process bereavement benefit claims in each month since January 2006, broken down by region.
	Bereavement Benefit is currently processed in 9 of the 11 Jobcentre Plus regions. The South East region processes Bereavement Benefit on behalf of London and the West Midlands. Centralising this work has not caused any decline in the time taken to process Bereavement Benefit. I have provided the information you requested in the attached table which shows that across the board we are performing within the target clearance times of 35 days. The National average for the period from January 2006 is 14.8 days.
	Centralisation has improved our ability to meet our customers needs so we have decided to further centralise Bereavement Benefit over the next couple of years. This will enable us to introduce quality improvements, concentrate expertise, and standardise delivery as well as make efficiency savings.
	I hope this is helpful.
	
		
			  Bereavement Benefit Average Actual Clearance Times 
			  Number of days 
			   January  February  March  April  May  June 
			 East Midlands 9.42 9.49 8.23 7.9 8.38 8.22 
			 East of England 10.42 11.83 9.53 9.97 10.14 9.9 
			 London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North East 7.65 9.51 7.38 8.07 8.02 9.8 
			 North West 15.32 15.82 16.68 14.62 14.05 14.78 
			 Scotland 13.56 12.79 15.05 12.6 14.93 15.22 
			 South East 19.92 17.3 21 16.06 18.11 18.18 
			 South West 16.81 17.64 15.56 14.13 14.5 14.33 
			 Wales 19.7 26.29 31.82 31.39 36.16 34.63 
			 West Midlands 9.47 7.81 7.98 10.74 11.4 13.45 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 13.06 14.82 13.74 13.31 12.34 14.23 
			 National 14.07 14.13 14.96 12.93 14.5 15.25 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of days 
			   July  August  September  October  November  December 
			 East Midlands 7.32 8.66 9.38 9.34 7.96 7.69 
			 East of England 9.81 10.27 19.04 22.99 27.65 27.36 
			 London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North East 8.48 8.62 9.6 9.3 8.88 8.71 
			 North West 14.35 12.97 12.99 13.83 14.89 13.71 
			 Scotland 13.84 15.87 13.65 12.17 16.24 13.96 
			 South East 27.19 18.76 15.3 19.74 17.1 17.31 
			 South West 13.43 12.27 13.09 13.32 11.56 10.91 
			 Wales 35.47 25.95 24.55 21.92 21.26 22.34 
			 West Midlands 9.23 14.73 0 0 0 0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 15.31 12.3 10.2 11.47 9.66 9.58 
			 National 16.96 14.85 13.87 15.8 15.23 15.12

Bonne Bouche: Insolvency

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action his Department is taking to assist the workers of Bonne Bouche Ltd in  (a) receiving unpaid wages following the company's administration,  (b) finding alternative sources of employment and  (c) receiving training opportunities.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	Former employees of insolvent employers can claim redundancy payments and other contractual debts such as unpaid wages, notice pay and outstanding holiday pay from the National Insurance Fund. The Insolvency Service's Edinburgh Redundancy Payments Office (RPO) is liaising with the Administrator of Bonne Bouche Frozen (UK) Ltd to establish what payments are due. Once the information is obtained to identify what payments are due they will be made without delay. The RPO aims to pay 78 per cent. of claims within three weeks of receipt and 92 per cent. within six weeks of receipt.
	The Jobcentre Plus offers access to a range of support schemes, from the new deal and the jobseeker's allowance through to more focused schemes designed to help those caught up in restructuring. It provides information on job searching; compiling CVs; further education and training for individuals who need to develop new skills; as well as benefits information. Jobcentre Plus works closely with other organisations to assess the scale of any redundancy situation so that that it can give people who are able to work, the best chance of getting a job. Its key partners include local authorities (LAs), the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Education and Learning Wales (ELWa) and Scottish Enterprise, the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in England, the Scottish Enterprise and the Welsh Development Agency and other Government Departments. The majority of the Bonne Bouche work force has made claims at Hartlepool Jobcentre Plus and every effort is being made to find them employment or retrain.

Disability Living Allowance

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disability living allowance claimants have had  (a) their claims refused and  (b) their entitlements reduced as a result of medical reports from (i) their GPs and (ii) other medical professionals involved in their care; and how many of these have had such decisions overturned on appeal.

Anne McGuire: Decision makers award or refuse benefits after consideration of all the relevant evidence. Medical reports form only part of that evidence. The most recent available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Disability Living Allowance: Cases rejected or reduced following medical evidence( 1) : 10 months April 2006 to January 2007. 
			   Number 
			 Rejected 142,561 
			 Reduced on reconsideration 275 
			 Reduced on renewal 11,027 
			 Reduced on supersession, including renewal supersession 710 
			 (1) "Medical evidence" includes factual reports from GP, hospital or consultant, or a report from an examining medical practitioner.. 
		
	
	
		
			  Disability Living Allowance: Appeal cases including a favourable decision to the appellant( 1) : 10 months April 2006 to January 2007 
			   Number 
			 Appeal allowed 18,056 
			 Award increased 6,503 
			 Award varied 528 
			 (1 )Information is not available to track an appeal to the originating event, nor is information available on what evidence was used to amend or overturn the decision

Employment Schemes: York

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will introduce a York city strategy along the lines of his Department's Dundee city strategy.

Jim Murphy: Our city strategy fits with our wider aims of moving towards an 80 per cent. employment rate and tackling child poverty by addressing localised pockets of worklessness.
	Those areas chosen to submit expressions of interest for the city strategy were selected on certain criteria including their employment rate, proportion of people in poverty, and numbers of benefit claimants, lone parents, disabled people, older people and ethnic minority groups within those areas.
	No decisions have yet been taken about any future round of the city strategy. We need to test it out and find out what works and what does not, and use what we learn to spread good practice.

Pathways to Work: Shropshire

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to be able to announce the roll out of the Pathways to Work programme in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.

Jim Murphy: On 4 July 2006, I announced the national roll-out of Pathways to Work. The communities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin are included within the Jobcentre Plus District of The Marches, which will start delivering the Pathways service from April 2008.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1560W, on advertising, how much of the spending on advertising was spent solely on  (a) sponsoring supplements and  (b) advertorials; and what the topic of each (i) advertorial and (ii) supplement was.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None of the spending on advertising related to sponsoring supplements or advertorials.

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department has  (a) a gender strategy and  (b) a gender equality action plan in place.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department of Trade and Industry does not have a specific strategy or action plan that is limited to gender. However, it is currently working on two areas of work that contain gender elements. These are:
	A Diversity Action Plan, that sets out the Department's strategy and planned activities towards meeting its diversity statement. This is to ensure: that all employees should be treated with openness, honesty and respect; that unfair treatment or discrimination is not tolerated; that the organisation is one that people are proud to be part of, and that under-representation in the Department and at senior levels is addressed.
	An Equality Scheme, that sets out how the Department intends to implement the Gender Equality Duty contained in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (no. 2930) which comes into force on 6 April 2007. DTI has already implemented the corresponding duties for race and disability, and intends to cover the other equality strands (age, religion or belief and sexual orientation) in its scheme implementing the gender duty. The scheme will be published before the deadline of 30 April set out in the legislation.

Electricity Generation: Pollution Control

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with stakeholders about the grid electricity carbon projections up to 2050.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 1 March 2007
	The Government are taking forward development of the policy proposals set out in the energy review report. Formal and informal discussions with stakeholders have been a key part of informing the consulting processes launched since that report. The issues on which we are consulting, summaries of stakeholders engagement activities and formal stakeholder responses can be found on the DTI website at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/review/page31995.html

Electricity: Meters

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will prohibit electricity token meter back-charging; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), is responsible for the regulation of gas and electricity supply. It is open to Ofgem to consider whether additional regulatory protection, such as the prohibition of back-charging token prepayment meters, is required.

Electricity: Meters

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department has been advised of when electricity suppliers' token meter programmes will be completed; what assessment Ofgem has made of suppliers' abilities to meet the timeframes they have proposed; and what enforcement action Ofgem plans to take where suppliers' token meter replacement programmes are delayed.

Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem is responsible for regulating gas and electricity supply. I understand that Ofgem has been in detailed discussion with suppliers about the issue of recalibration of certain prepayment meters. It is open to Ofgem to decide what regulatory protection is necessary, including what action is to be taken should a supplier fail to meet any of its obligations.

Electricity: Meters

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he raised the issue of prepayment meter back charging during his meeting with Scottish Power on 6 October 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry did not meet Scottish Power on 6 October 2006.
	On 9 October, he attended the ground-breaking at Scottish Power's wind-farm at Whitelee. Discussion was limited to renewables issues.

Electricity: Meters

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received on the practice of electricity suppliers back-charging their token meter users; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has received a number of recent representations on consumer issues, including the recalibration of certain prepayment meters. I understand that Ofgem, which is responsible for regulating gas and electricity supply, has been in detailed discussion with suppliers about this issue, following which suppliers gave a series of commitments to improve their performance. Details of these commitments were published in Ofgem's recent statement of good practice on token prepayment meters and debt. Ofgem will monitor suppliers' progress and will consider what further action should be taken if suppliers fail to respond.

Electricity: Meters

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure that the supply licence review being carried out by Ofgem includes proposals to eliminate the practice of token meter back charging; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I understand that, as part of Ofgem's review of gas and electricity supply licences, suppliers will be required to recalibrate certain prepayment meters in a timely way following price changes.
	Outside of this formal process, I also understand that suppliers have given a series of commitments to Ofgem to improve their performance, as part of Ofgem's recent statement of good practice on token prepayment meters and debt. Ofgem has committed itself to monitoring suppliers' progress in this area and has said that it will look to take further action if suppliers do not respond.

Electricity: Meters

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to prohibit the practice of electricity token meter back-charging; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), is responsible for the regulation of gas and electricity supply. It is open to Ofgem to consider whether additional regulatory protection, such as the prohibition of back-charging token prepayment meters, is required.

Estate Agents

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation and discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Ministers on the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: My officials have been in regular contact with the Welsh Assembly Government over the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill. Welsh Assembly Ministers were consulted over and agreed the Bill before it was introduced into Parliament. Welsh Assembly Government was also consulted over and agreed the Government amendments made in the Lords to clarify the functions of the Welsh Consumer Council.

Flexible Working

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many men with child care responsibilities have requested flexible working arrangements in his Department since 6 April 2006; and what estimate he has made of the number of such men making such requests in England.

Jim Fitzpatrick: All requests for flexible working arrangements in the DTI are handled at the local line management level. It would entail disproportionate costs to provide these data.
	Figures are not available for the number of men with child care responsibilities requesting flexible working arrangements in England since 6 April 2006. However, the third work-life balance employee survey, conducted on DTI's behalf in early 2006, found that, in the previous two years, 12 per cent. of male employees in Great Britain with dependent children had approached their current employer to make a request to change how they regularly work. Separate figures are not available for England.

Minister for London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many  (a) official visits,  (b) meetings with (i) hon. Members, (ii) members of the public, (iii) Greater London Assembly members, (iv) local councillors and (v) representatives of voluntary organisations (A) he and (B) his predecessors undertook as Minister for London in each of the last 10 years, broken down by month.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Minister for London has in the period from May 2006 to February 2007 (period to date, based in DTI) carried out the following visits and meetings. Information prior to May 2006 is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   2006  2007 
			   May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December  January  February 
			 Official visits including receptions/speeches: 1 2 — 1 — 2 3 2 — 1 
			
			 Meeting with:   
			 i) hon. Members — — — — — — — — (1)4 — 
			 ii) Members of public — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 iii) GLA members/ London councils/ Mayor/London councillors — 2 3 — 1 1 — — 2 — 
			 iv) Representatives of voluntary organisations(2) 2 2 1 1 — — 1 — 1 2 
			 (1) Relating to GLA Bill (2) Including not for profit business organisations

Natural Gas: Prices

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to assess the level of profits made by gas companies which fail to adjust price downwards after a fall in energy prices and the impact of such action on consumers.

Malcolm Wicks: The profits of retail gas supply companies reflect conditions in a competitive market, including the time lag between changes in wholesale and retail prices. Ofgem, as the independent sectoral regulator, keeps the level of competition in the gas market under review, and has the powers it needs to deal with any failure of competition. The Government continue to encourage gas companies to consider their most vulnerable consumers when considering price or service changes.

Office for Civil Nuclear Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects arrangements to be completed for the transfer of the administrative location of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security to the Health and Safety Executive.

Malcolm Wicks: We are currently working on the basis that the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) will transfer to the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2007. After the merger, OCNS will continue at its current location in Harwell. A further statement will be made in due course.

Post Offices: Chorley and Penrith

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which areas of Chorley constituency are considered to be  (a) urban,  (b) rural and  (c) remote under the access criteria for the post office network.

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what areas of Penrith and The Border constituency are considered to be  (a) urban,  (b) rural and  (c) remote under the access criteria for the post office network.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The classification of post offices is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook, the managing director, has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Members.

Research Councils: Finance

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effects on universities of the change in budgets of the research councils consequent on the Spring Supplementary Estimates of his Department.[R]

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 February 2007
	Before making the changes that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced at the time of the Spring Supplementary Estimates, to reallocate part of the accumulated unspent science budget, my officials discussed with the Research Councils the likely impact on their planned activities of the reduction in the End-Year Flexibility.
	Research projects already being funded will not be affected by this change. The Research Councils are considering detailed options, including the effects on grants to universities from 2007-08, and will make individual announcements when they have reached decisions on these.
	The sum involved amounts to less than 1 per cent. of nearly £10 billion awarded by Government to science over the current three-year spending period.

Satellite Communications

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will undertake research into the economic threat to UK companies who use commercial satellites for transacting business of increases in space clutter.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have not directly funded such a study and have no immediate plans to do so. However, the potential risk is increasingly well known and Government and industry are involved in mitigation practices and the development of relevant international standards.
	In licensing UK space activities, a safety assessment is carried out for each application and this includes a study of the debris mitigation measures put in place by the applicant for the launch and end of life of the satellite, plus measures taken to minimise debris in the event of an accident to the craft.
	BNSC is also developing a database of relevant good practice and standards to support keeping space open for business. This will be used to improve further the safety assessment and be made available to licence applicants.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requests for additional equipment for UK forces in Afghanistan have been made by  (a) UK commanders in Afghanistan and  (b) UK commanders in the UK for each month since January 2006; what has been the UK Government's response to each such request; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: pursuant to the reply, 8 February 2007, Official Report, c. 1070-71W
	The number of Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) was incorrect. Since the start of planning for deployment into southern Afghanistan, some 150 UORS have been approved, of which 59 have already been delivered. These figures are correct as at 21 February 2007.

Armed Forces: Pay

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many operational allowance tax-free bonuses have been paid to those entitled having completed six-month tours in each month since the announcement by the Secretary of State on 10 October 2006; and what the total value was of such bonuses.

Derek Twigg: As at 31 January 2007, operational allowance tax-free bonuses had been paid to 31,409 personnel and totalled £34.98 million. These figures include all personnel who have received a bonus irrespective of tour length.

Armed Forces: Retail Trade

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will discuss with the Navy, Army and Air Force institutes the extension of the range of goods that are available for sale in theatre to UK armed forces personnel.

Derek Twigg: The Permanent Joint Headquarters/NAAFI Customer Service Board regularly review services to armed forces personnel in theatre. In addition, suggestion boxes are in place in theatre which enable personnel to make specific requests. Both the MOD and NAAFI remain committed to continuing to improve the range of goods and services available.

Armed Forces: Training

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on military training in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: Military training encompasses activity which ranges from low-level individual skills to multi-national, joint and combined exercises. It includes training conducted to convert personnel onto new equipment, educational programmes and personal development amongst a number of other strands. This training is delivered in many ways by different agencies across Defence using a variety of methodologies and media from dedicated specialist training establishments and distributed delivery to web-based self study.
	The whole cost of this training is not captured centrally and this could be done only at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Armoured Vehicles: Iraq

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to deliver the  (a) Mastiff armoured vehicles to Iraq and  (b) Vector armoured vehicles to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 January 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 211W, to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth).
	The first Vector vehicles will be delivered to the Army shortly; for operational security reasons I am not prepared to go into the detail of the delivery timetable of a new capability into an operational theatre.

Challenger Tanks

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on the provision of spare parts for the Challenger 2 main battle tanks in February 2006; and how much it expects to spend in  (a) February 2007 and  (b) February 2008;
	(2)  what plans he has for the future flow of spare parts to the Challenger 2 main battle tanks.

Adam Ingram: The Department spent £2.51 million on the provision of spare parts for Challenger 2 main battle tanks in February 2006. The projected spend for February 2007 is £1.23 million and the forecast spend for February 2008 is £1.30 million. The higher figure in February 2006 includes costs associated with the roll-out of the new Mk2 track.
	Under current plans, Challenger 2 will be included in Phase 1 of the Armoured Vehicle Support Initiative. Provision of spares will be an integral part of this programme.

Future Large Aircraft: Procurement

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many A400M aircraft are to be procured for the British military; and at what cost.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 28 February 2007
	The UK Government have ordered 25 A400M aircraft at a forecast cost of £2,616 million.

Hypersonic Mass

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research  (a) is being carried out and  (b) has been commissioned by his Department into the kinetic energy of hypersonic mass and its potential as a weapon of deterrence.

Des Browne: holding answer 30 November 2006
	The MOD has in the past commissioned research into the electromagnetic launch of projectiles to achieve hypersonic velocities. Study of small Kinetic Energy missiles has been also undertaken. Both areas concentrated on the attack of tactical armoured targets such as tanks or ships.
	The research ended in Financial Year 2005-06, as the technology does not as yet offer cost effective alternatives to current capabilities. The Department now maintains an awareness of electromagnetic launch and hypersonic projectiles technologies, as set out in the Defence Technology Strategy, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Mental Health

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 625-66W, on Mental Health, how many occupational psychologists his Department employs; where they are based; how many of them are uniformed; and what assessment he has made of the number required.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence currently has 29 occupational psychologist posts, 24 of which are currently filled (10 chartered occupational psychologists and 14 practitioners in training). One is based with the Royal Navy, 10 with the Army, eight with the RAF, three in the MOD Headquarters, one at the Defence Leadership and Management Centre and one seconded to Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory), an Executive agency. The five currently vacant posts are temporary vacancies and are expected to be filled in the near future. Dstl itself employs a further five occupational psychologists.
	None of the occupational psychologists is uniformed.
	Assessments of the numbers of occupational psychologists required to meet the Ministry of Defence business needs are made by the separate departmental Top Level Budget (TLB) areas, and the 29 posts are currently sufficient to meet these needs.

Military Bases: Portsmouth

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of Portsmouth Naval Base.

Adam Ingram: No decisions have been taken on the future of Portsmouth Naval base or the other Naval bases at Devonport and the Clyde. The Naval Base Review is still considering the infrastructure required to support the Royal Navy of the future. Its recommendations are not expected to be finalised before spring 2007, after which they will be subject to approval, ultimately by Ministers. I hope to be in a position to make an announcement before the summer recess. Final decisions will be subject to formal consultation with trades unions.

Military Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Cougar and  (b) Vector vehicles have been delivered to frontline forces in Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 22 January 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 211W, to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth).
	The first Vector vehicles will be delivered to the Army shortly; for operational security reasons I am not prepared to go into the detail of the delivery timetable of a new capability into an operational theatre.

Service Personnel: Medical Conditions

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many servicemen were assessed  (a) in theatre and  (b) on return from service in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan as having traumatic brain injury in each year since 2003.

Derek Twigg: Full historic data relating to such injuries are not held centrally, and could be established only by examining the personal medical files of every Service man and woman. This would require the permission of all individuals.
	However, records for the year 2006 held by the Aeromedical Evacuation Control Cell at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) lists categories of injuries suffered by medically evacuated personnel received at University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust (UHBFT's) Selly Oak hospital, which is the main receiving hospital for our casualties from Afghanistan and Iraq. These data show that for the calendar year 2006 the following numbers of injured personnel with Neurosurgical injuries have been treated at Selly Oak hospital, the majority of which will have been serious head injuries, including traumatic brain injury.
	
		
			  Neurosurgery: 2006 
			   Operational 
			   Iraq  Afghanistan 
			 Listed 7 1 
			 Non-Listed 4 4 
			 Total 16 
		
	
	Patients whose condition is classed as 'listed' include Seriously Ill (SI) and Very Seriously Ill (VSI). All other patients are 'non-listed'.
	"Seriously ill/Injured/Wounded" or SI is the definition we use where the patient's condition is of such severity that there is cause for immediate concern, but there is no imminent danger to life or reason.
	"Very Seriously Ill/Injured/bounded" or VSI is the definition we use where the illness or injury is of such severity that life or reason is imminently endangered.

Territorial Army: Finance

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what criteria he uses to determine the level of funding for a Territorial Army unit;
	(2)  what formula is used to determine the maximum number of training days allotted to a Territorial Army unit between strength and place in operational cycle;
	(3)  what the maximum amount of Territorial Army training days allowed in relation to the operations cycle is; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The criteria used to determine the level of funding for a Territorial Army unit cover pay, tasking and overheads. The pay budget allotted to a unit is based on the anticipated strength of the unit (the number of Territorial Army personnel in the unit) and the tasking budget is based on both the current and future roles of the unit (training (man training days) and deployments). Overheads cover those costs associated with the estate and administrative matters. Funding will, therefore, vary according to a unit's strength and place in the operational cycle. However, all Territorial Army units receive the funding necessary to enable them to meet their task.
	In general terms, there is no maximum limit on the number of training days placed on any Territorial Army officer or soldier and, as such, no formula is used in determining the allocation of training days to a Territorial Army unit. A unit at full strength will secure more funding to ensure that all its personnel have the opportunity to achieve their minimum training requirement. Similarly, a unit that is preparing to send a formed sub-unit to an operational theatre is likely to use more funding training and preparing than a unit without a current operational commitment. It is important to note that, although there is no maximum limit, specific restrictions may be imposed upon units by the chain of command in order to avoid overspend and ensure that funding and training is focussed where most needed.
	There is no set maximum amount of training days allowed in relation to the operations cycle. The tempo of current operations and the requirement for the Territorial Army to deliver military capability determine the levels of funded training—some Territorial Army personnel and units warrant and receive more than others because of an individual's particular role, capability or career progression or a unit's scale of commitment to current operations. There is funding for all Territorial Army personnel to achieve the minimum training requirement and so win their bounty and, if the circumstances warrant, individuals and units may attract additional funded training for role-specific or operation-specific reasons. All funded training opportunities and those personnel conducting them are carefully scrutinised to ensure propriety, efficacy and the timely delivery of operational capability.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Children: Day Care

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on  (a) Sure Start,  (b) children's centres,  (c) nursery provision and  (d) childminder networks in Cumbria in each year between 2001 and 2004.

Beverley Hughes: The information available on outturn for Cumbria is shown in the table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  (a) Total Sure Start resource and capital expenditure n/a n/a 4.4 6 8.3 
			   
			  (b) Of which: Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) / Children's Centres 1.4 2.4 3.5 4. 1 4. 8 
			   
			  (c) Under fives 14 13.6 14.7 22.1 22.1 
			   
			  (d) Childminder networks n/a n/a n/a 0 n/a 
			  Notes:  (a) Source is audit returns from the local authority and the individual SSLPs. Audited expenditure is not available for 2000-01 and 2001-02.  (b) Children's Centres expenditure starts from 2003-04. SSLPs are included as all those in Cumbria have converted to Children's Centres.  (c) Over the 2001-05 period, funding for nursery and pre-school education has been provided through a mixture of nursery education grant and Education Standard Spending Assessment (SSA), up to 2002-03, and Education Formula Spending (EPS), from 2003-04. The 2002-03 and 2003-04 figures are not directly comparable because the coverage of the SSA and EPS differ.  (d) Expenditure within General Sure Start Grant on creation of childminder networks can only be separately identified in 2003-04.

Class Sizes: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size for  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools was in (i) Ribble Valley constituency and (ii) Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is shown in the table.
	Lancashire local authority area was subject to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in April 1998.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools: average class size( 1) 
			  Position in January each year 
			   Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency  Lancashire local authority area( 2)  Lancashire local authority area( 3)  Blackburn with Darwin local authority area( 3)  Blackpool local authority area( 3) 
			   Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary 
			 1997 29.1 22.3 28.8 22.5 — — — — — — 
			 1998 29.0 22.4 28.9 22.5 — — — — — — 
			 1999 28.1 22.3 — — 28.2 22.4 29.0 22.2 30.0 24.1 
			 2000 27.8 22.3 — — 27.7 22.7 28.8 23.0 29.4 23.8 
			 2001 27.7 22.4 — — 27.3 22.6 28.1 22.2 28.3 23.6 
			 2002 27.0 22.3 — — 26.7 22.4 27.2 23.0 27.9 24.2 
			 2003 27.1 22.3 — — 26.5 22.5 26.9 22.5 27.6 23.9 
			 2004 27.0 22.9 — — 26.4 22.6 26.7 22.7 27.3 23.3 
			 2005 26.5 22.8 — — 26.3 22.2 27.1 22.2 27.2 22.6 
			 2006 27.3 22.4 — — 26.5 21.8 27.4 22.3 27.1 22.3 
			 (1) Classes as taught by one teacher during a single selected period on the day of the census in January. (2) Before Local Government Reorganisation (3) After Local Government Reorganisation.  Source: Schools Census

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of students gained  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) five GCSEs of each grade in each year since 1996; how many gained no GCSEs; and how many gained five or more GCSEs of which one was (i) mathematics and (ii) English.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 February 2007
	The information requested can only be provided within the deadline at a disproportionate cost. The following table shows the number and percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4(1) achieving the requested information for 2006(2).
	(1) Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in the 2005/06 academic year.
	(2) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years.
	
		
			  GCSE and equivalent achievements for 2005/06( 2)  for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4( 1) 
			  GCSEs and equivalents  Number  Percentage 
			 0A*-C 127,615 19.8 
			 1+A*-C 515,790 79.9 
			 2+ A*-C 472,168 73.1 
			 3+ A*-C 441,409 68.3 
			 4+ A*-C 415,697 64.4 
			 5+ A*-C 382,577 59.2 
			 5+ A*-C including English 341,969 52.9 
			 5+ A*-C including mathematics 318,886 49.4 
			 0A*-G 23,452 3.6 
			 1+A*-G 623,382 96.5 
			 2+ A*-G 613,690 95.0 
			 3+ A*-G 605,275 93.7 
			 4+ A*-G 596,100 92.3 
			 5+ A*-G 584,605 90.5 
			 + A*-G including English 579,170 89.7 
			 5+ A*-G including mathematics 571,433 88.5 
			 (1) Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in the 2005/06 academic year. (2) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the Assessing Pupils Progress projects in English and mathematics referred to in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority review of the secondary curriculum.

Jim Knight: APP (Assessing Pupil Progress) materials are designed to secure teachers' summative assessment judgements of pupil progress in Key Stage 3.
	APP materials for Reading and Writing were distributed to all secondary schools in 2006; Speaking and Listening materials will be distributed in 2007. Maths APP materials will be distributed to schools in the next few weeks.
	The content of these materials has been developed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) with input from other experts, and disseminated through the secondary national strategies. The QCA are currently working on parallel materials for Science and for foundation subjects.
	The English and Maths APP materials were both piloted for two years under the title MPP (Monitoring Pupil Progress) before being rolled out to all schools. The Department is also piloting comparable materials for primary schools, with a view to rolling them out nationally in 2008.
	These materials are at the heart of our approach to Assessment for Learning (AfL), which is
	"...the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there." (Assessment Reform Group, 2002).
	We are committed to improving schools' use of pupil assessment data to inform more personalised learning, and these approaches will be tested as part of the 'Making Good Progress' pilots announced recently. The APR materials—as well as other guidance on some of the classroom techniques that underpin AfL, such as peer assessment and objective-setting—can be found on the Standards website at:
	www.standards.dfes.gov.uk.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will assess the effectiveness of the consultation on the secondary curriculum.

Jim Knight: The QCA is responsible for the secondary curriculum review consultation and any evaluation into its effectiveness. The criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of any consultation are set out in the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Consultation.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether usability testing was conducted on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority secondary curriculum review website among  (a) parents,  (b) pupils,  (c) school governing bodies,  (d) teachers and  (e) head teachers.

Jim Knight: No formal usability testing of the secondary curriculum review website was conducted by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). QCA welcomes feedback from parents, pupils, governors, teachers and head teachers on the website as part of the consultation process. The website will be developed further in response to user comments.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority took steps to ensure the materials on the curriculum review website were written in plain language.

Jim Knight: The materials on the curriculum review website were written to the best practice standards the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority uses for all the materials it publishes. This includes multiple edits, a plain English check and the assurance that the appropriate technical terms were used as necessary.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to monitor the use to which schools put the supporting materials to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority secondary curriculum review if implemented.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) will monitor the use of the supporting materials by schools. QCA will revise and adapt supporting materials in light of feedback from schools as the revised secondary curriculum is implemented.

Special Educational Needs

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanisms are in place to ensure the impartiality of decision-makers in local authorities judging  (a) whether a child should receive a statement of special needs and  (b) whether to pay for statemented children's education.

Parmjit Dhanda: Local authorities, under the Education Act 1996, have a duty, where necessary, to assess children's special educational needs (SEN) and draw up SEN statements. When doing so they have to have regard to the statutory guidance set out in the SEN Code of Practice. The Code provides criteria for deciding to draw up a statement and advises local authorities to set up moderating groups to support transparency and consistency in deciding whether to draw up statements. The Act also gives parents the right to appeal decisions not to draw up statements to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
	Once a statement has been finalised local authorities are under a statutory duty to arrange the special educational provision set out on the statement. This includes ensuring the funding to support the educational provision is available.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Aggregates Levy

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money generated from the Aggregates Levy Fund was spent on heritage projects in each year of its existence; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The levy on aggregate extraction was introduced in April 2002; part of the money raised by the levy finances the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). The aim of ALSF is to address the environmental and social costs of aggregate extraction through delivery of environmental improvements, minimising the demand for primary aggregates and reducing the local effects of aggregate extraction.
	The following table outlines the ALSF money that has been spent on heritage projects in each year since 2002.
	
		
			  ALSF money spent on heritage projects 
			   £ 
			 2002-03 5,192,340 
			 2003-04 4,134,830 
			 2004-05 4,255,328 
			 2005-06 4,093,488

Animal Welfare: Standards

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what scientific assessment has been made of the capacity of the  (a) pig and  (b) broiler chicken standards in the Red Tractor assurance scheme to support the achievement of the standards of animal welfare set out in the Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Red Tractor assurance scheme is a private initiative which seeks to assure compliance, by farmers, with standards that are in line with, and in some instances exceed, legislative requirements concerning food safety, animal welfare and, to a lesser extent, environmental protection.
	The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) noted in their August 2001 "Interim Report on the Animal Welfare Implications of Farm Assurance Schemes" that:
	"Even if they did no more than assure minimum welfare standards, the growing influence of regular audits required by farm assurance can only be of benefit in raising awareness and standards".
	In their subsequent report, "Welfare Implications of Farm Assurance Schemes" FAWC made a number of recommendations on how both assurance and organic certification schemes could help deliver further improvements in animal welfare. We have been in contact with the schemes about these recommendations.

Avian Influenza

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the remit is of the inquiry by his Department into the recent events at Bernard Matthews at Holton in Suffolk; and how the  (a) proceedings and  (b) conclusions of the inquiry will be communicated to the public.

Ben Bradshaw: The final Food Standards Agency-led report into the possible transmission of the H5N1 avian influenza virus from imported Hungarian turkey meat to the UK was published on February 16. It concluded that there is no evidence that any meat has entered the UK food chain from the restricted zones in Hungary and that all food importing and processing activities undertaken were in line with European Commission law. It also found that the risk to workers in and around the Bernard Mathews food plant, and by other routes was very low.
	Defra's interim epidemiological report, published on February 16, concluded that the importation of poultry products via Hungary is "currently the most plausible" route of transmission. This investigation is still ongoing. All possible routes of infection are being investigated and we have not yet been able to rule out any method of introduction. A full report will be published on the Defra website when the investigation is complete. Copies will also be placed in the Libraries of the House. It is likely that this will take a further few weeks.

Avian Influenza

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how avian influenza was spread from one shed to others at Bernard Matthews Holton plant; and what the time period was between first identification of the virus and later identification in other sheds.

Ben Bradshaw: Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed on the Bernard Matthews Holton plant on 3 February. All birds on the plant were culled between 17:30 on 3 February and 20:45 on 5 February.
	Samples were taken from the birds in all 21 sheds when they were culled. The presence of highly pathogenic H5N1 infection, of the Asian lineage, was confirmed in three other sheds on 9 February. On-site epidemiological investigations indicate that these sheds might have become infected as a result of a reduction of biosecurity measures following the initial laboratory results from the clinically affected birds. Staff previously assigned to groups of other sheds were used for the depopulation of the affected house. Personnel movements between the sheds is therefore a possible means of dissemination.
	This investigation is still ongoing. A full report will be published on the Defra website when the investigation is complete. Copies will also be placed in the Libraries of the House. It is likely that this will take a few weeks yet.

Avian Influenza

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department first learnt that Hungarian poultry meat was being transported to Bernard Matthews at Holton, Suffolk.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department was aware of regular consignments of poultry meat from Hungary to the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton, taking place in compliance with European Union intra-community trade legislation, before the clinical outbreak of H5N1 infection.
	However, on 13 February, test results revealed that the strain of virus found in the Holton turkeys was a 99.96 per cent. match to the strain found in Hungary. This made transmission direct from Hungary more likely and this is when our investigation began to focus on this possible link.
	The investigation is ongoing and we have not yet been able to rule out any method of virus introduction.

Avian Influenza

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures his Department put in operation to effect a rapid cull of turkeys at Holton; and what alternative options were considered.

Ben Bradshaw: Culling to control the recent outbreak of H5N1 was carried out in accordance with Defra's revised Contingency Plan for Exotic Animal Diseases, which was laid before Parliament on 13 December 2006 and the State Veterinary Service operational instructions.
	With the number of birds involved, gassing was considered to be the only practical option. Following a review of the various gassing options, a decision was made to kill the birds in a slaughterhouse adjacent to the premise using an anoxic gas mixture.
	The Department's priorities were to ensure the health and safety of all involved in the operation, that bird welfare was safeguarded and that we completed the process as quickly as possible without compromising biosecurity.

Avian Influenza

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what biosecurity methods are in operation at Holton; and what methods are in use at other poultry units in England.

Ben Bradshaw: The Holton site comprises a turkey finishing unit, a slaughterhouse, and two processing plants. There are numerous controls throughout the various stages of production and processing, with additional measures in place during an outbreak. These measures include the cleansing of equipment, transport and people, and separation of animal and meat products. Biosecurity measures in place at the Holton finishing unit included:
	(i) disinfection of feed and other delivery lorries on entry and departure
	(ii) staff working in the finishing units were separate from those in the slaughterhouse and processing units and were restricted to sheds for which they were responsible
	(iii) staff were required to shower on entry to the site and change footwear on entry to any particular house
	(iv) and staff were not allowed to keep their own poultry.
	DEFRA does not collect such information from other poultry units although these are the kind of measures that owners and managers of the larger operations, such as those at the Holton site, would adopt. We are, however, not aware of many other finishing units in the UK which have a processing factory located as near as at the Holton site. Other finishing units, therefore, may have a less complex biosecurity regime to protect the health of the birds.
	Local authorities, and the Meat Hygiene Service enforce compliance with animal health, welfare and public health legislation. Information has been published in the two reports into this outbreak (available from the Library of the House) and a final epidemiological report is yet to be published.

Avian Influenza

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the birds recently slaughtered having been infected with avian influenza were transported from Suffolk to Staffordshire to be destroyed.

Ben Bradshaw: The rendering plant in Staffordshire was chosen as it was the nearest plant to the H5N1 outbreak that had the necessary biosecurity measures in place to deal with a case of this kind, and also had the capacity to deal with the number of birds.
	Strict biosecurity measures are in place for the transportation of animals culled for disease control purposes. The carcases were transported in specialist leak-proof lorries, fully covered with securely fixed top covers or tarpaulins.
	A number of measures were taken prior to the lorries leaving the infected premises to ensure that trucks were not overfilled and leaks did not occur. Prior to use, each vehicle is leak tested and visually inspected for defects. Before being licensed off the site, the external surfaces of the vehicle were sprayed down with an approved disinfectant as a further biosecurity measure. Each batch of trucks was also accompanied by an escort to ensure that the trucks did not leak, that material did not fall from the vehicle and that, in the unlikely event of an accident or incident involving the vehicle, measures could be taken to protect human and animal health and the environment.
	Drivers carried a certificate of leak-testing and a transport incident record card which detailed the actions to be taken in the event of an accident or incident.

Carbon Dioxide: Air Pollution

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government's target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent. by 2050 includes cuts in the UK's share of international aviation emissions.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 8 February 2007
	Emissions from aviation are not included in the Government's target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent. by 2050, since there is currently no international agreement on ways of allocating such emissions.
	The Government believe that, for an international industry, an international trading scheme is the best solution and we are, therefore, pursuing this with the International Civil Aviation Organisation. But until a truly global solution can be found, the EU has the opportunity to show leadership by including aviation in the existing EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
	The EU ETS is a key policy measure in the UK's wider strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change. Emissions trading is an economically efficient way of achieving emissions reductions as it provides companies with the flexibility to respond in the most cost-effective way.

Disease Control: Compensation

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there is an EU-wide agreement on the payment of compensation to workers who are laid off following an outbreak of animal disease.

Ben Bradshaw: No. Market impacts of animal disease are a risk carried by the industry. However, the Government seeks to minimise that risk, particularly by encouraging wide public understanding of the issues and an evidence-based and proportionate response. Clear advice from the Food Standards Agency has helped with this.
	The market support that was made available last year by the European Commission (EC), which was not used by the UK, was time-limited and a one-off in response to the acute pressures in some member states at the time. In administering the support regime, the EC made it clear that the assumption would be that no future use would be made of such market support provision. They also made it clear that the industry would need to prepare itself for any similar market fluctuations in the future.
	It is open to the Company to use any compensation it receives for the birds compulsory slaughter to help staff laid off due to a drop in sales.

Dogs

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will ensure that legally docked working dogs continue to be allowed to take part in agility, working trials and obedience shows where the public is admitted on the payment of a fee;
	(2)  if he will ensure that dogs with tails that have been shortened or amputated for medical reasons may continue to be shown at all events.

Ben Bradshaw: There will be a ban on the showing of docked dogs at events to which members of the public are admitted on payment of a fee. However, this ban does not apply to dogs shown for the purpose of demonstrating their working ability.
	Any dog which has had all or part of its tail removed after the commencement date(1) will be banned from being shown at events to which members of the public are admitted on payment of a fee. This will close a potential loophole in the law.
	(1) 6 April (in England) or 28 March (in Wales)

Environment Agency: Waste Management

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will increase the enforcement capability of the Environment Agency as new waste regulations come into force.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government's approach is to ensure better prevention of illegal waste activity in the first instance, as well as providing more effective powers to bodies like the Environment Agency (EA) to aid detection and more risk-based, targeted enforcement. As new waste regulations are introduced, we would expect the EA to recover any increased regulatory compliance and inspection costs through charges. The Government also provide the EA with grant-in-aid to pay for its wider enforcement work.
	Amendments made to waste regulations are intended to simplify them and encourage compliance. They will not necessarily increase costs to either the EA or to businesses. They are also intended to reduce the amount currently spent on clearing up illegal waste dumps, which is currently costing local authorities and private landowners £100 million per year.

Helicobacter Pullorum

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether helicobacter pullorum is classified as a poultry-human zoonose.

Ben Bradshaw: Helicobacter pullorum has been associated with diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and liver disease in humans and hepatitis and enteritis in poultry. This organism is considered a zoonotic agent although no animal sources or routes of transmission have been identified for human infection.

Helicobacter Pullorum

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on the subject of  helicobacter pullorum.

Ben Bradshaw: None.

Helicobacter Pullorum

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence he has received regarding trends in the level of anti-microbial resistance among  (a) existing zoonoses and  (b) Helicobacter pullorum.

Ben Bradshaw: There are few published studies worldwide on the antimicrobial resistance associated with Helicobacter pullorum. This reflects the very low numbers of isolates available.
	A European Food Safety Authority report on trends and sources of zoonotic agents in animals, feedingstuffs, food and man in the UK, which includes information on antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella and Escherichia coli, is produced annually and can be found on the Defra website.
	Defra, jointly with the Department of Health, the Health Protection Agency and devolved Administrations, will be publishing, very shortly, the first report in the UK providing an overview on the usage and resistance to selected antimicrobials in humans, animals and food. The report covers antimicrobial resistance in a number of zoonotic bacteria.

Helicobacter Pullorum

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of Helicobacter pullorum among poultry in England.

Ben Bradshaw: No estimate has been made on the level of Helicobacter pullorum in poultry in England. It is not currently regarded as a significant cause of disease in humans or animals and there is, therefore, insufficient reason to prioritise resources towards surveillance in animals.

Waste Management: Greater London

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which London boroughs have sold their trade waste portfolios to the private sector; and what the estimated annual tonnage is of each such borough.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department does not hold information on the number of London boroughs that have sold their trade waste portfolios to the private sector.
	Results from the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Centre Local Authority Trade Waste Recycling Survey, carried out in January 2007, show that 26 of the 32 London boroughs provided a trade waste collection service. These are listed as follows:
	Barking and Dagenham
	Barnet
	Bexley
	Bromley
	Camden
	Croydon
	Ealing
	Enfield
	Greenwich
	Hackney
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Harrow
	Hillingdon
	Islington
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Lambeth
	Lewisham
	Merton
	Newham
	Redbridge
	Richmond upon Thames
	Southwark
	Sutton
	Tower Hamlets
	Waltham Forest
	Westminster.
	London boroughs are not required to provide an estimate of annual tonnages for trade waste. However, the latest results from WasteDataFlow 2005-06 show that approximately 21 per cent. of municipal waste in London came from non-household sources. This includes waste from municipal parks, garden waste, commercial and industrial waste and waste resulting from the clearance of fly-tipped materials.

WALES

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what databases are controlled by his Department; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office has use of two database systems, both within the contracted services procured and made available to us by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). One is a document storage system, which complies with DCA records management policy. The other is the financial system, to support our payments, financial management, and accounting. These processes are subject to internal and external audit for DCA as a whole. The Wales Office does not have direct control over either of these systems.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent on  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in his Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office came into being in 1999. Since then the Department has not held any involuntary or voluntary staff exit schemes, nor do we plan any. There has been no cost to the Department for such schemes.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax: Greater London

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) average per dwelling and  (b) average Band D council tax was in (i) two-tier areas, (ii) London boroughs, (iii) metropolitan areas and (iv) unitary areas in (A) 1997-98 and (B) 2006-07.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested is in the following table. Average council tax per dwelling is not available for 1997-98:
	
		
			   Average B and D council tax (1997-98)  Average B and D council tax (2006-07)  Average council tax per dwelling (2006-07) 
			  (i) Two-tier areas 667 1,303 1,139 
			  (ii) London boroughs 651 1,214 1,128 
			  (iii) Metropolitan districts 779 1,237 884 
			  (iv) Unitary authorities 698 1,251 982 
			  Source: BR and CTB1 returns

Islam

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to tackle Islamic extremism.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 1 March 2007
	The Government remain strongly committed to working with Muslim communities to tackle violent extremism. A security response alone however will not be sufficient to win hearts and minds. We have made it clear that it is not good enough to merely sit on the sidelines or pay lip service to fighting extremism. We are working with those organisations that are taking a proactive leadership role in tackling extremism and defending our shared values, such as the British Muslim Forum and Sufi Muslim Council and others.
	On Monday 26 February 2007, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government set out in more detail our approach towards preventing extremism in her speech to the British Muslim Forum. The text of this speech can be found at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l508163

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma: Human Rights

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions the Government have had with  (a) China and  (b) Russia on the political and human rights situation in Burma.

Ian McCartney: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) on 24 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1840W.
	In addition, officials raised Burma at the UK/Russia Human Rights Consultation in London on 22-23 January.

Burma: Politics and Government

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will bring pressure to bear on the military regime in Burma to  (a) engage in dialogue with democratic and ethnic groups in the country and  (b) move towards a transition to federal democracy.

Ian McCartney: We have repeatedly called for the restoration of democracy in Burma. I reiterated this call in my meeting with the Burmese ambassador on 15 June 2006 and my letter to the Burmese Foreign Minister of 5 July 2006. In my statements of 2 June 2006, 2 October 2006, 19 October 2006 and 15 February 2007 I called for the release of political prisoners in order to allow a genuine and inclusive national reconciliation process to begin. We have worked in the United Nations Security Council, with our EU partners and in our contacts with key partners in the region to keep up the pressure for peaceful transition to democracy. We have consistently maintained that it is for the people of Burma to decide on their most appropriate form of democratic government.

Departments: Complaints

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints from the public were received by  (a) the (i) corporate affairs, (ii) consular services, (iii) protocol, (iv) defence and intelligence, (v) globalisation and (vi) political sections of her Department,  (b) UK Trade and Investment,  (c) UK Visas,  (d) each embassy overseas and  (e) each consulate overseas in (A) 1997-98, (B) 2001-02 and (C) 2005-06; and how many have been received by each in 2006-07.

Geoff Hoon: This information is not held centrally and would be disproportionately costly to compile.

Entry Clearances

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which 50 countries the most work permit visas were issued from an overseas mission in 2005-06.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the following table:
	
		
			  Top 50 countries that issued UK work permit visas during 2005-06 
			  Country  Received  Issued  Refused  Issue rate (%) 
			 India 23,315 22,032 1,261 94 
			 United States 6,752 6,652 57 99 
			 Bangladesh 621 3,038 218 489 
			 China 3,305 2,880 450 87 
			 South Africa 2,893 2,800 93 97 
			 Australia 2,518 2,497 2 99 
			 Philippines 2,692 2,463 221 91 
			 Japan 1,925 1,903 2 99 
			 Pakistan 2,455 1,809 918 74 
			 Ukraine 1,701 1,653 47 97 
			 Romania 1,731 1,649 77 95 
			 Bulgaria 1,691 1,648 55 97 
			 Russian Federation 1,175 1,149 34 98 
			 Canada 1,051 1,002 16 95 
			 Malaysia 725 683 66 94 
			 Thailand 759 640 95 84 
			 New Zealand 628 609 4 97 
			 Singapore 618 587 17 95 
			 France 599 552 30 92 
			 Korea 568 538 25 95 
			 Jamaica 633 524 100 83 
			 United Arab Emirates 503 502 7 100 
			 Sri Lanka 535 469 59 88 
			 Turkey 477 461 26 97 
			 Belarus 409 398 6 97 
			 Brazil 394 380 9 96 
			 Germany 399 374 18 94 
			 Israel 397 373 17 94 
			 Moldova 454 373 79 82 
			 Nigeria 470 338 137 72 
			 Zimbabwe 363 321 44 88 
			 Saudi Arabia 329 308 13 94 
			 Cuba 291 291 0 100 
			 Ghana 393 274 127 70 
			 Netherlands 259 246 3 95 
			 Egypt 237 237 1 100 
			 Kenya 286 232 45 81 
			 Irish Republic 249 229 14 92 
			 Mexico 184 183 0 99 
			 Colombia 221 178 43 81 
			 Indonesia 186 174 17 94 
			 Botswana 151 152 0 101 
			 Lebanon 148 140 5 95 
			 Spain 141 137 1 97 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 135 135 0 100 
			 Yugoslavia 131 131 0 100 
			 Senegal 138 130 0 94 
			 Switzerland 130 128 0 98 
			 Argentina 127 126 1 99 
			 Mauritius 114 118 1 104 
			  Notes:  If applications issued and refused do not equal the total of applications received, it is usually for the following reasons: 1. Applications can be carried forward from one year to another before being resolved. 2. There may be instances of appeals received prior to 2005-06, however granted during 2005-06, which will be reflected in the issue figure. 3. Applications can also be referred to the Home Office for a decision to be taken, or for further inquiries to be carried out, or for sponsors to be interviewed. In these circumstances, delays can and do occur between the application being received and a decision being taken.  Source:  Central Reference System (CRS) 20 February 2007 
		
	
	I would like to draw the hon. Member's attention to the footnote attached to the list, especially in the case of our High Commission in Dhaka, where the discrepancies in the figures for the year 2005-06 can be accounted for by the fact that no new Hospitality Sector Based Scheme applications were received after 31 July 2005.
	However during the year 2005-06 our High Commission in Dhaka continued to deal with 3,000 plus cases that had been decided at appeal following refusal in 2003-04. I hope this clarifies these statistics.

European Constitution Treaty

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many man hours have been spent by  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in her Department in the discussions with the German EU presidency regarding the future of Europe referred to in paragraph 41 of Prospects for the European Union in 2007 (Cm 7024).

Geoff Hoon: Information on the number of hours spent by Ministers and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials in discussions with the German presidency regarding the future of Europe could be collated and provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, Ministers and officials have been in regular contact with their German counterparts since September 2006 regarding priorities for Germany's presidency. These discussions have covered a wide range of issues, including the future of Europe debate.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I meet regularly with our German counterparts under their presidency, not least every month at the General Affairs and External Relations Council. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met with the German Chancellor most recently on 13 February in Berlin. Our embassy in Berlin is in daily contact with the German government on a range of issues.
	The UK, at German presidency request, also nominated two senior officials to act as 'focal points' in future of Europe discussions (Mr. Kim Darroch, Head of the Cabinet Office European Secretariat, and Ms Shan Morgan, EU Director in the FCO). They have, to date, held one bilateral meeting with the German presidency on 24 January, called to discuss the Berlin Declaration.

European Union

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the Minister for Europe has made to the European Commission's review of the Single Market.

Geoff Hoon: Since the launch of the European Commission's review of the single market in May 2006, I have met with members of the Commission on several occasions and set out the Government's position on single market reform. I have also used regular meetings with Members of the European Parliament and EU Ministers to reinforce this, and engaged with British business to help further shape our approach. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have worked closely with HM Treasury and Department of Trade and Industry colleagues throughout, feeding ideas into the Commission, and we will continue to do so ahead of the final report this autumn. Our detailed approach is set out in the paper "The Single Market: A vision for the 21(st) century", launched by my right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 30 January 2007 and placed in the Library of the House.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what airport customs procedures there are for pedestrians travelling from Gibraltar into Spain.

Geoff Hoon: Pedestrians travelling from Gibraltar to Spain are subject to routine customs checks by Spanish customs officers, since they are entering the Community Customs Territory.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what status the tripartite agreement gives to British aircraft travelling to Gibraltar when in Spanish airspace.

Geoff Hoon: The tripartite agreement has no effect on the status of British aircraft flying in Spanish airspace. The rights of an airline of one country to traverse the airspace of another country are enshrined in the International Convention on Civil Aviation, signed at Chicago in 1944.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effect the tripartite agreement has had on claims by the Spanish Government over sovereign British territorial waters surrounding Gibraltar.

Geoff Hoon: The tripartite agreement has had no effect on the United Kingdom and Spain's respective positions on the waters surrounding Gibraltar.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the UK's claims to territorial water surrounding Gibraltar.

Geoff Hoon: Under international law, coastal states are entitled, but not required, to claim territorial sea up to a maximum breadth of 12 nautical miles. Where the coasts of two states are opposite or adjacent, neither is entitled, unless they agree otherwise, to extend its territorial sea beyond the median line. The Government consider that a limit of three nautical miles is sufficient in the case of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she has plans to discuss claims to increase British territorial water surrounding Gibraltar with the Spanish Government.

Geoff Hoon: There are no such plans.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what restrictions exist on vesssels travelling from Gibraltar to Spanish ports.

Geoff Hoon: Spanish restrictions require military vessels travelling from Gibraltar to travel to another non-Spanish port before entering a Spanish port. This restriction is not applied to cargo vessels, cruise ships or other passenger boats.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the customs procedures are for Gibraltarian citizens who cross the border from Spain to Gibraltar.

Geoff Hoon: Gibraltarian citizens who cross the border from Spain to Gibraltar are not in practice subject to customs checks by the Spanish customs authorities before they can exit Spain. They are subject to a customs check by Gibraltarian customs upon entering into Gibraltar.

Iran: Detainees

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Government policy is on the treatment of Iranian nationals captured while fighting as insurgents against British troops in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq.

Des Browne: I have been asked to reply.
	In Afghanistan, the UK policy is that any individual detained by ISAF forces should be transferred to the Afghan authorities at the first opportunity and within 96 hours, or released.
	In Iraq, following the detention of any individual by multi-national force Iraq, a decision will be made to either release the individual, transfer him to the Iraqi judicial system (where criminal evidence exists), or to intern him if this is deemed necessary for imperative reasons of security, as permitted under UNSCR 1723. This decision is based on an assessment of the threat posed by the individual and is not related to his nationality.
	All new UK internees have their cases reviewed by the Divisional Internment Review Committee no later than 48 hours after they are apprehended, and then every 28 days thereafter. Cases are also reviewed by the Combined Review and Release Board, a joint UK-Iraqi board, every three months. Individuals held for 18 months have their cases referred to the Joint Detention Committee which is co-chaired by Prime Minister Maliki and the Commander Multi-National Force Iraq.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether representatives of the Iranian Government raised UK compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty during the six-party talks in London at the end of February 2007.

Kim Howells: Iran was not represented at the talks in London on 26 February, which were attended by senior officials from China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, the US and the office of the EU High Representative (the "E3+3"). They discussed Iran's non-compliance with Resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors and the United Nations Security Council, as well as possible next steps in the Security Council.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions are in place against Iran in relation to nuclear proliferation.

Kim Howells: United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1737, adopted unanimously on 23 December 2006, imposes a number of sanctions on Iran under article 41 of chapter VII of the UN Charter. These are proportionate and targeted at Iran's sensitive nuclear and missile activities. All states have a legal obligation to comply. In general terms, the measures include:
	a prohibition on supplying certain nuclear and missile related items to Iran and on providing related assistance;
	a prohibition on the export from Iran of such items and their procurement from Iran;
	monitoring of the travel of certain individuals engaged in or providing support for Iran's proliferation sensitive activities;
	limits on International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) technical co-operation with Iran;
	freezing of the assets of persons and entities designated in the resolution's annex as well as those subsequently identified by the Security Council or the Sanctions Committee; and
	a call on states to prevent specialised teaching or training of Iranian nationals, which would contribute to Iran's proliferation sensitive nuclear activities.
	The implementation of measures will be suspended if, and for as long as, Iran suspends uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities, as verified by the IAEA. A copy of the resolution is available on the UN website at:
	http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_resolutions06.htm.
	EU Foreign Ministers discussed the resolution on 22 January and agreed that:
	to ensure effective implementation of measures in UNSCR 1737 while remaining consistent with EU policy, and recalling the EU policy not to sell arms to Iran...the EU should prevent the export to and import from Iran of the goods on the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) and MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) lists; ban transactions with and freeze the assets of individuals and entities covered by the criteria in UNSCR 1737; ban travel to the EU of the individuals covered by these criteria; and take measures to prevent Iranian nationals from studying proliferation sensitive subjects within the EU.
	On 12 February, EU Foreign Ministers gave political endorsement to a Common Position giving effect to this decision; we expect the Common Position and a related EC Regulation to be adopted shortly.
	We have also taken steps at a national level to implement UNSCR 1737, including through the adoption of the Iran (Financial Sanctions) Order 2007, which came into force on 9 February. The order is available at:
	http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20070281.htm.
	On 20 February, the UK submitted a report to the President of the Security Council setting out in detail all the steps we have taken to implement UNSCR 1737. I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Iraqi civilians died in Iraq as a consequence of  (a) military action by coalition forces,  (b) sectarian violence and  (c) acts of violence from insurgents in 2006.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 25 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 1950-51W.

Kosovo

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the future governance of Kosovo.

Geoff Hoon: UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari presented his draft proposals on Kosovo's future status to the parties on 2 February. Executive summaries of the proposals, including those that relate to the future governance of Kosovo, can be found on his office's website at www.unosek.org.
	The United Kingdom fully supports UN Special Envoy Ahtisaari and welcomes his draft proposals. As EU Foreign Ministers agreed on 12 February, his proposals create the basis for Kosovo's sustainable economic and political development and for strengthening the stability of the entire region.

Kosovo

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the governments of  (a) Greece and  (b) Albania on the future governance of Kosovo.

Geoff Hoon: I met Albanian Foreign Minister Mustafaj in the margins of the UN General Assembly in September 2006. The government of Albania fully supports the UN-led Kosovo Final Status Process.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Kosovo with EU partners, including Greece, at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 12 February. The Council expressed its full support for UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari and his proposals, which create the basis for Kosovo's sustainable economic and political development and for strengthening the stability of the entire region.

Latin America

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on the UK Public Strategy Paper on Latin America; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, plans to launch the paper in the next few weeks.

Pakistan: Afghanistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of  (a) levels of Taliban activity in Pakistan and  (b) the impact of such activity on conflict in Afghanistan; and what representations she has made to the Pakistani Government on this matter.

Kim Howells: We share the Government of Pakistan's concerns about the dangers of Talibanisation in Pakistan and its effects on the insurgency in Afghanistan. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary took the opportunity of her visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan this week to discuss with Presidents Musharraf and Karzai and senior members of their respective Governments how we can co-operate to create stability and security in Afghanistan. Pakistan is a vital partner in the region and we recognise the steps that they have already taken against the Taliban and to secure their border with Afghanistan.

Paramjeet Singh

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings she has had with the family of Paramjeet Singh; when the British high commissioner in India first contacted Mr. Singh; and what contact her Department has had with Mr. Singh since his arrest in the Punjab in December 2006.

Kim Howells: Consular officials have been in regular contact with Mr. Singh's family from the day of his arrest on 23 December 2006. Officials from our high commission in New Delhi sought consular access as soon as we were notified of his arrest. They visited Mr. Singh in prison on 30 December 2006 and again on 22 February 2007. We will continue to provide Mr. Singh and his family with all appropriate consular assistance.

Smith Institute

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money from the public purse  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have given to (i) the Smith Institute and (ii) its subsidiary SI Events Limited in each year since 1997; and for what purpose each payment was made.

Geoff Hoon: Neither the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) nor its agencies, FCO Services and Wilton Park, have made any payments to the Smith Institute or SI Events Limited since 1997.

Somalia: Peace Keeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK is providing support to the African Union stabilisation force for Somalia; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We strongly support the proposed African Union (AU) stabilisation mission for Somalia. We therefore welcome the unanimous adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1744, sponsored by the UK, on 20 February 2007 which authorises the mission, as well as reiterating the need for a reconciliation and political process in Somalia, and permitting support to the Transitional Federal Government and Institutions to develop their own security sector. We commend the AU for taking on this mission and are grateful to those countries that have so far offered to contribute personnel to the mission.
	In addition to advisory support to the AU through our representation to the AU, based in our embassy in Addis Ababa, we are considering a significant financial contribution in this financial year to help fund the cost of the mission. We will consider further support as detailed plans for the mission develop.

Venezuela: Food

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what report she has received on the proposal by the Venezuelan authorities to allow officials to take control of food distribution.

Geoff Hoon: We are aware that the Venezuelan authorities have talked of giving greater control of food supply to officials. Any such proposals appear at an early stage of development.